Legacy of the Uzumaki
by SlashnYaoi
Summary: The Uzumaki had been the favored of the God Inari and now the gifts have re-awakened in Naruto. Watch as becomes a legend, changing into something decidedly more foxy. Yaoi!Harem, Uke/Seme!Naruto. First chapter dedicated to warnings
1. Intro notes, warnings, &ct

This story is a rewrite of my previous story, Wings on Which to Fly. You DO NOT have to read that story in order to know what's going on here.

If you want to get an idea of whats kinda going to happen, feel free to read it. I will warn you that that story, like this one, contains a lot of smut.

Standard disclaimers apply to both stories.

It is rated M for a reason, and you can figure that out yourself.

Don't come bitching to me about how I didn't warn you, as my story may or may not contain the following:

Sex, yaoi, underage sex/chan/shota, BDSM, D/s, pushy ukes, angst, confusion, no rape, no 'people I like' deaths, may not be canon, may disregard all time-lines, hard yaoi, hate/angry sex, soft sex, vanilla sex, BJ, fluff, tentacles, orgies, toys, improper use of jutsus, and anything else my deviant mind may come up with.

Enjoy.


	2. Chapter 1

Uzumaki Naruto was really starting to wonder where it all went wrong.

It had started out as a normal day. He had woken up, eaten breakfast (instant shrimp ramen and toast) and had even made it to the academy on time! Iruka-sensei had taught, he pulled a prank, got yelled yet, failed at the bunshin no jutsu, went to old man Ichiraku's, ate more ramen and then went home and went to bed.

Then everything had to go fucking pear-shaped. His dreams had been feverish, pulsing and disorienting. He had been tossing and turning and stayed in the place before wakening and dreaming, but still lost in his dreams. When his alarms blared, he found himself unable to awaken. Even in his half dreams, he panicked. Why couldn't he wake up?

Eventually the alarm ceased its noise and Naruto was still helpless in his dreams of swirling colors and heat.

Why couldn't he wake up?

* * *

When Iruka realized Naruto was not in class that morning, he immediately became suspicious. What kind of prank was the little cretin up to this time? After deliberating to himself for several moments, he decided that during lunch he would go and find the missing prankster.

* * *

Sarutobi was a busy man; busy and old. He was very tired and longed for the days of retirement and rest. In his (admittedly) less then prime state, he had become lax in regards to his own control. The council did what they pleased and very nearly held more power them him. Donzo was another problem as well, but in his old age he had not the physical or mental strength to combat them.

But Sarutobi was a shinobi, and shinobi were known for their cleverness and sneakiness.

A shinobi does not do something that he can get others to do for them.

Which was exactly what the Third Hokage had planned…

Lying on his desk in front of him lay the documents left in his care by the Elders of the Uzumaki clan. The scroll was worn with age and use, frayed and dirtied at the edges. The once majestic frog clasp was riddled with snags and loose strings. It had seen better days.

The Third sighed and caressed the scroll again in hope. Soon, hopefully soon Naruto would come into his inheritance and with it, the power to fix all that Sarutobi had allowed to become broken.

* * *

Iruka left directly as lunch began, giving a quick explanation to one of his fellow teachers, incase someone came looking for him or incase he ran a little late. Giving a brief way, Iruka quickly took to the trees and roof tops of Konohagakure.

Now, while Iruka may have been a mere chunin, he was no push over. One did not practically raise the Kyuubi jinchuuriki without learning some higher level techniques and handy tricks. The particular one he was about to use he had learned from the Professor himself. He was a hunter-nin technique, which allowed the one who performed the technique to send out a chakra 'probe' that would immediately center in on the chakra they were looking for. The only drawback to the technique was that the one had to have insane chakra control, and be highly familiar with the chakra they were looking for. Thankfully, Iruka had practiced enough to become very proficient in the jutsu in regards to Naruto.

Iruka was expecting to find Naruto pulling some prank or maybe wolfing down some ramen. He was therefore, suitably surprised to find him at home. Did the brat sleep in?

Managing a quick Shunshin, Iruka appeared just outside of Naruto's apartment door.

* * *

It was hot still, so hot.

Who was he? He couldn't remember.

Vague memories…smiling, laughing, so much pain and hate…who…what?

There was a noise somewhere, where was he? A sound, maybe a voice? He couldn't remember.

There was cold now, he leaned into it, keening in need. Vague noises again. He was being lifted, or was he? He couldn't remember, couldn't distinguish what was real and what wasn't.

A breeze or maybe just a phantom, more noise, more talking.

It was so hot, why couldn't he just die?

Oh, a light.

How pretty.

* * *

Iruka was quickly beginning to panic. Naruto had a very high fever (his nightclothes and bed were completely soaked with sweat) and he completely unresponsive. The hospital had no idea what was wrong. Test after test and nothing was showing up.

He needed to get the Hokage.

* * *

When Iruka had rushed into his office clearly panicked, Sarutobi had feared the worst. He feared something horrible had happened-a child had died, Naruto had left/been taken away, or even that his grandson was in some kind of danger.

He had not expected to hear that Naruto was in the hospital with a fever so high that he should be dead, and was nonresponsive.

He knew what was happening, and he couldn't help but feel some relief.

It would be only weeks later that he would regret that relief, that joy of Naruto coming into his inheritance.

The boy broke all laws of the mortal realm and had come into his own far too early. His own personality, which had not fully matured at his young age, would find issues with his new found abilities. While it would make him easier to train, it would make it harder to put in effect.

* * *

It was such a pretty light, all white and pure. He wanted to touch it.

* * *

"Iruka", the Third immediately brought the panicking chunin's attention to himself. "Do not worry; what is happening now is natural for an Uzumaki."

"…and what happens if the doctors can't fix him and-what?" Iruka finally processed what the Hokage had said through his frantic ranting.

* * *

Oh, it was warm. Not hot, but a comforting warm…like hugs. Was this what love felt like?

* * *

"The Uzumaki clan originates from Uzu no Kuni (Whirlpool country). The Uzu hidden villages were very recluse and very isolated. I have only one scroll that contains information about them, and even that is very limited and vague…"

* * *

Yes, this was what love had to feel like. He felt warm and safe and happy. Why couldn't he feel like this forever?

* * *

"…You see, the Uzumaki clan to Uzu was what the Uchiha was to Konoha. They were respected, loved, feared and seen as almost royalty. But like the Uchiha's tendency towards blindness, the Uzumakis also had a fault..."

* * *

He pulled the light closer to himself. Then he was falling, falling down, down, and down…

* * *

"…the Uzumakis were mostly male."

* * *

He could see now. Standing with the light cradled into his arms he was he was in a field surrounded by trees.

* * *

"Reproduction quickly became an issue. It was in the early days, before the hidden villages became what we know them as that they stumbled onto the solution."

* * *

Something was coming out of the trees. Oh…how beautiful.

* * *

"They came across an old peddler who begged for food and shelter. They happily obliged, and indeed the old man was treated much like a favored grandfather. The clan heads took him in and welcomed him to stay for as long as he liked. The months he stayed there, he was treated kindly by all and he quickly grew to love his new found family."

* * *

Such a graceful thing, and so beautiful…but why was it smiling at me? Surely I don't deserve it.

But that face, he recognized that face. Something deep inside of him knew who it was.

* * *

"The village would be attacked by rogue samurai, a practical army of trained soldiers against a small shinobi village. It would be a slaughter, but the Uzumaki were proud. They told the old man they all had grown to love to run, to hide, and to stay safe. It was therefore, very surprising for both the shinobi and the samurai when the visage of the old man melted away to reveal…"

* * *

"Inari-sama" he kneeled into a bow, holding the light up in offering to the god.

"Ah, Uzumaki-san…It has been such a long time since an Uzumaki has ventured into my realm. Stand child; let me see the face of one of my favored children."

* * *

"What?" Iruka's whispered question was harsh and disbelieving.

Sarutobi couldn't help but chuckle, lilting up his pipe.

"Inari-sama is a kitsune, a creature of mischief and deception, but of loyalty as we so often forget. For the love and kindness he was shown, the Uzuamki clan became blessed. He called them his 'favored children' and gave them many gifts and powers. He gave the males the ability to bare children, the females the ability to impregnate, and to all he gave the powers of a kistune. Naruto is coming into his powers as an Uzumaki, and with that the powers of a kistune."

* * *

"Come child, it is time for your awakening. The world has grown lax and corrupt in the absence of the celestial beings. You shall be my solider, my knight of redemption. It will be hard work my child, but the rewards are great. For the tasks I give you, do you accept?" Inari's figure was tall and proud, neither male nor female but androgynous in its beauty. Silver hair fell down to the god's heels, golden eyes peered out from beneath perfect bangs. The god's face was perfection, and his skin was milky and radiant. A truly divine creature, with fifteen silver tails swaying behind him.

"Yes, my lord"

"When you awaken you will be different, but you will remember your life. You hold my first son within you. The Kyuubi lies within your stomach, keep within by the seal on your navel. I will have words with him, and he will help you in your quest. Uzuamki Naruto, I can see already that you will not fail me. What do you desire for your reward, my child? You deserve something for making it this far." Inari asked as he reached out and caressed Naruto's cheek with his long, claw like nails. He held the orb of light within one of his tails; waiting for the answer he knew would come.

Naruto didn't even hesitate, it was what he had always wanted and had relentlessly waited and worked for.

"Love"

The great god gave a pleased chuckle, "Then you shall have it, my own. When you awaken you will remember, and you will learn the powers I have granted the Uzumaki. As for love, I will give you the tools and opportunity to make it more possible, but it is not something I can force. Even gods have limits."

"Oh, thank you Inari-sama!" and before another word could be uttered, the ball of light was thrust into Naruto's chest Inari's elegant hand.

Uzuamki Naruto woke up to a white ceiling and worried eyes.

* * *

So chapter One is done.

fixed kistune to kitsune and added space in title. please point out any other errors!! thanks to those who did!


	3. Chapter 2

When Naruto first woke up to the dreaded white ceiling of Konoha's hospital, he was not in the most…coherent of moods. He had just woken from a very vivid dream, still had a slight fever, and for due to coming into his inheritance so soon, his hormones weren't exactly stable either.

Which led to Iruka's current predicament...

"…, and, and, Iruka-sensei it was scary!" Naruto was frantically wailing into the chunin's green vest. Iruka, not knowing what else to do, patted Naruto's head as he continued is bizarre tale, shooting a vicious glare at the hokage who was faintly chuckling in amusement.

It was during this comforting of Naruto that Iruka realized that Naruto was slightly taller then he last remembered him to be. He quickly wrote it off. He probably just hadn't noticed that Naruto a grown a little since the last time he had seen him…two days ago. Iruka firmly shoved his doubts into the back of his mind. He would ponder the happenings of today later…and preferably less sober. Kitsunes and mystical powers indeed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Naruto realized when he had awoken that something about his biology was off. The room smelt harsh and chemically, the lights were too bright for his eyes and everything looked sharper. He found that he could hear everything-the nurses' heels as they walked, the chatter of the doctors, and even the sounds of the IV dripping into the needle's dispenser. It was amazing, and almost painful.

In his confusion and fear of the newness, Naruto retreated into himself, allowing his body to 'auto run' in a matter that would seem 'Naruto-like'. It was seconds later that he realized his face was buried into Iruka's shirt, which smelt like chalk, ocean and something deeper. This scent, he instinctively knew, belonged only to Iruka-his unique identifying scent.

He realized that he also instinctively knew how to block out or tune down the new information that was now bombarding his senses. He also found, still within Iruka's embrace, that he could key into something, focusing on it so that it was almost like he was right beside whatever he was focusing in on. By focusing on the light giggling of the nurses he could hear them chatting on about one of the girl's boyfriend, smell their perfume and he knew exactly where they were in the building-how he did not know, but he _knew_ where they were.

He could also smell and sense the Fifth's old age. The man he considered to be like a grandfather to him smelt of death, decay and illness. It was a disturbing smell, one that Naruto all but forced himself to ignore. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

Still, even as Naruto stood there in Iruka's embrace, he could feel something rushing through his blood. Something was changing him, and it was changing him fast. He was scared and excited. What would happen? What would he be able to do with the changes that were coming? How would everyone react?

It didn't take long for everything to catch up with Naruto. In Iruka's calming embrace, he fell into a deep, recovering slumber.

Little did he know, when he awakened, he'd never be the same again.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto slept peacefully that night. After the medics and deemed him fit he was carried back to his apartment by Iruka, who refused to wake the sleeping boy.

His dreams were filled with full moons, sparkling treasures, mischief, silk and the feelings of pleasure-Kistunes were very hedonistic creatures after all.

It was during his dreams that Naruto's appearance and very DNA began to morph and change. His body became longer, more slender and lithe than the stocky build he may once of developed. His fingernails became more claw like and tougher (his feet followed suit) and his face sharper and more feline; his hips widened and his spine elongated to allow for more flexibility; his ears morphed into points for his sharper hearing, and his hair grew out in waves.

He was no longer the Naruto he once knew. He was now an Uzuamki, favored of Inari.

O0o00o00o0o

It was morning. The sun streamed through Naruto's apartment window and directly into Naruto's sensitive eyes. He tossed and turned at first, fussing and wanting to stay asleep for just a bit longer. Unfortunately, the sun won and Naruto was forced out of his comfortable cocoon of blankets. Yawning, Naruto rolled himself out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom to begin his morning routine.

Half awake and with his eyes still blurred with sleep, he did not see the changes that had occurred as he climbed into the shower.

It wouldn't be until he had finally got out of the shower, had breakfast and gone back into the bathroom the brush his teeth that he would look in the mirror.

"Wha?" Half confused and misbelieving, Naruto continued to stare at himself in the mirror. He pulled, pushed and tweaked at his new found body.

"I've…changed?" Naruto stated to himself. His voice, he noticed, had gone softer and gentler but deeper. His eyes had also become more almond and the once happy blue was more of a cold diamond. He also noticed that when he talked, his canines would peak out from his now fuller lips.

"I look girly" he sighed, even as he ran his hands through his hair in a very feminine fashion. It was odd but it felt…right. He realized, perhaps a little belatedly, that this changed was connected to his dream.

"Not a dream after all, I guess. But, now what? My clothes aren't going fit, and I can't just walk around in a blanket…" Naruto thought aloud to himself. "At least, I don't think they'd fit? I guess I'll have to try something. I have that under armor that Iruka-sensei gave me a while ago, and it's kinda stretchy…"

With a new purpose in mind, Naruto dug through his (very sparse) chest of draws and located said under armor. It was, of course black with a high collar but no arms-it was standard issue armor (made from a thin but flexible material that was enhanced by chakra to act as steel, but without the weight) to go under chunin vests without being visible. Naruto had never worn it because it had never fit him previously-the shoulders were too wide and it had fallen to his knees before. Now, he filled it out rather nicely and while is still fell to his thighs, he could pass it off as a long shirt instead of an almost dress as it was before. Digging deeper, he found a pair of black leggings to match, but he found they fit a little tight on his rear.

'Thankfully no one will notice since my shirts so long.' Naruto thought to himself. Satisfied he was decent, he headed out to the Hokage's tower. He had no doubt the old man would want to see what had happened to him.

0oo0o0o0o

The hokage was pleased with Naruto's change. He now had a very powerfully alley and weapon at his disposal and planned to train and utilize it to its full capacity. However, at Naruto's current level, it would be a waste of time for the hokage to train Naruto himself. Instead, he would gradually work Naruto's level up until he had surpassed his teachers, then he would train Naruto.

But first, the boy needed clothing.


	4. Chapter 3an actual update!

It had been four months; four months since Naruto's startling change. He had visited the old man that day, and his theory had been confirmed-it hadn't been a dream, it was real. He was a favored of the god Inari who had charged him with tasks, given him power and a chance at his greatest dream-love.

After visiting the hokage, who had given him a large amount of money for clothing, Naruto had immediately gone to the nearest shinobi supply shop to search for clothes…only to find that nothing suited his tastes. The clothing was too harsh, rubbing painfully against his skin. Those that he did find that had mild comfort were tight and nearly impossible to move in or too loose to be an option.

This dilemma resulted in Naruto's discovery of 'shinobi silk'. 'Shinobi silk' was mainly for undercover missions or for those in very high positions that required robes of ceremony. It was only available as cloth, and had to be sewn by charka threads by hand. For Naruto's new found tastes, it was worth. The material felt like silk-soft and cool with designs that pleased him, but still tough enough that he didn't need to worry about snags or it easily ripping. It took him a week to sew his chosen design together- a long sleeved, black cheongsam with a blood red cherry blossoms embroidered into the fabric. He wore long pants underneath, which he tucked into black slippers that were flexible enough for him to have full mobility with his foot.

He found that the slit in the cheongsam allowed for a good distraction-he could throw it up into an attacking enemies' face to block their vision or if one grabbed a hold of it, use it to pull them to himself, or simply cut it to throw them off balance. Naruto had also sewn many pockets into the out-fit-most of which were hidden within the natural folds and cuts of the fabric.

The way it complemented and hugged his curved body also pleased Naruto. Something deep down within himself purred at the feeling of the silk caressing his skin and at richness of its appearance. He was becoming rather materialistic, but couldn't find it in himself to care. He was changing, and had accepted that fact.

He found himself seeking out mirrors as of late. His whisker marks were still visible, but most people seemed to ignore them now. He looked more adult then his peers and felt more mature as well. His juvenile crush on Sakura had completely been eradicated upon his return to the academy-her treatment of others left something to be desired, in fact, her whole attitude left something to be desired.

Both himself and the hokage had agreed that it was best that he henge himself until at least the chunin exams. He found the metamorphosis to be easier if not fun. Indeed, a thrill of anticipation had run down his spine when he had preformed the change-back to the Naruto everyone knew, clothes and all. It hadn't felt or looked like a henge, instead of smoke, just a quick blink and he was changed. It was not even taxing to keep up.

The hokage had also taken Naruto quickly and quietly under his wing. He had begun to teach the boy and give him even more materials to work on during times he could not devote to physically training Naruto. History, philosophy, politics, law, meditation, health, self-awareness, psychology and culture were just a few of the subjects Naruto was expected to study in his off time and have committed to memory. The Professor encouraged him to practice his studies by taking on his new appearance and interacting with others. In this way, Naruto began to build bonds and relationships to others who never would have looked at him twice. But that is for another time.

Currently Naruto was partaking in his first mission. He was nervous, palms sweating and shaking with adrenalin and he shifted his weight from foot to foot in impatience. The hokage himself had gifted him with this assignment, and he would not fail.

Mizuki had been acting strange for the last few weeks that were leading up to the genin exams. He had been seen spending more time than necessary around the hokage tower, and was found more than once trying to enter the record's room. It was more than suspicious. Naruto's job was to force Mizuki's hand. He had, for the last few days, been pushing Mizuki's buttons in attempt to get him to say something in anger. That angle had failed. He didn't know Mizuki's plans, so he couldn't force him to push them forward. Which leads us to today and to his last option: reconnaissance.

Naruto had been following Mizuki around town for what seemed like weeks. His use of shadow clones (jiji had taught those to him first to help him with his studies and training) cut down the time and suspiciousness of shadowing Mizuki (he did live in a shinobi village after all) but it was still bothersome and boring.

It wasn't until the day before the genin exams that he finally found something of significance. In his last sweep of Mizuki's apartment, he had found the edge piece of singed parchment, only four words were readable. It was obvious that Mizuki had destroyed that paper and like deadly mistakes that ninjas make, it was this small clue that gave away everything.

Clutching the scarps tightly in his fist, he made his way for the hokage with information literally in hand. The damning words nearly burning into his flesh: failure steal, forbidden scroll.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

The hokage had requested that Naruto see his first mission out to the very end, which is why he was in his now natural form, donning a blank ANBU mask. The mask fit unnaturally on his face, and the ever emerging other-self inside of him nearly hissed at having to cover his face. It was an unfortunate necessity and he calmed himself down by thinking it was there to protect his face more than hide it.

O0o0o0o0o0o

(A/N: I hate to do this mid-story, but so many of you seemed concerned that Sarutobi was going to be a 'villain' in this story. As I told many of you when I replied to your reviews, I found Sarutobi to be such a weak character in the series, and it just didn't make a lot of sense to me-this guy it suppose to be the leader of a shinobi village-shinobi aren't weak and frail in mind or body. Now, he proved he had some physical capabilities with his fight in the chunin exams, but mentally…he always came off weak to me. Here, I'm trying to show that he isn't going to be a 'bad guy' but he isn't all good either-just like a shinobi. I hope this helps with the character development I've been trying to do with him. If not, please tell me and I'll try to further explain it-either with more blurbs like this one, or something else if that isn't working. Thanks, and sorry again for the interruption!)

Sarutobi was not necessarily a cruel man. He was a ninja, a human bred, hired and trained for deception, power, murder, theft and manipulation. A tool first, a human second. To become hokage, one had to embody these characteristics to an extreme and push them onto others. His job was not an easy one. Every day he sent men, women, children, the strong, the weak, the sick, he unable, the smart, the ignorant, the good, the bad, the weapon and the human out to kill or be killed. Every day, he killed someone indirectly-be it through orders or by accident. Be it his own, or a stranger.

Sarutobi was not evil, but many forgotten that to gain a position of power in a nation based on war and murder was not through being a kind old man. He was tired of being pushed around. He had given individuals too much power, and it was becoming a problem.

Sarutobi was not a cruel man, but for too long had he let the roots of Konoha blacken with rot.

His actions would not only create a legend, but a new era.

For better, or for worse.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Mizuki was in a dilemma. No one had failed the genin exams, not even the kyuubi jinchuuriki. His mission had to commence tonight, he was already behind schedule and any further delay would lead to…repercussions. He was desperate, and desperate people made mistakes.

He had decided to do the job himself. Tonight he would sneak into the Hokage's private library and steal the Forbidden Scroll. What was in it that was so important to his master, he didn't know or care. The Hokage's tower was heavily guarded, but he was a trusted member of the school's staff, and as such, would not be looked at twice if he stated he needed some reference material for lesson plans. Iruka had done it before, so he should have just as much access.

Too bad he didn't know that Iruka was also the Hokage's secretary of sorts, and as such often access the more…sensitive material.

Ignorance always was Mizuki's weakness.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o

Mizuki had blundered his way into the Hokage's library, alerting nearly every ANBU in the area. The ANU however, had been informed that they were not to interfere and had been told that it was the new recruit's rite of passage-a common occurrence in the ANBU world. So they stayed back and watched, wanting to see the new potential that had been added to their folds.

They watched as Naruto stalked his query, his body movements feline and smooth. The blank mask caught the light, symbolizing he had yet to be given his ANBU alias as he had yet to pass his final task. They followed as Naruto followed, eager to witness a new member to their pack. They watched anxiously as he caught up with his prey, as he caught Mizuki and knocked him out so he could later be interrogated. They would not be allowed to witness his first interrogation, and few would be there for his first kill, but many had watched on for his first mission. It was neither remarkable nor flashy, and that suited the ANBU perfectly.

The ANBU were the shadows of Konoha, and as such, were not noticeable unless they needed to be. A flashy ninja was a dead ninja-it gave away your location and usually the flashier the jutsu, the more chakra it wasted without purpose. It made for a good distraction and show, but little else.

As Naruto dragged Mizuki's unconscious body to ANBU headquarters, he prepared himself for the task ahead. He would have to torture and interrogate his once comrade and teacher. He had never been fond of Mizuki, but he still was a fellow comrade and it hurt to think of his betrayal. He especially felt bad for Iruka, who would no doubt take the news doubly hard.

He felt a small flicker of chakra as another ANBU dropped in front of him. The mask resembled a bird with a long, curved beak and the eyes were round and dark. He didn't know what bird it was, but it was a disconcerting image, especially as the mask tilted a little as the ANBU stared at Naruto. Finally the bird gave him a little nod, and presented his hand in offer to help.

Naruto shook his head once in negative. He appreciated the offer, but it was his first mission, and he wanted to see it out through the end. The other ANBU nodded his head in understanding, and many more dropped from the skies, surrounding Naruto on all sides. A brief pause, just enough to inhale, and then they all moved as one, moving towards headquarters.

It was as awe inspiring, seeing a sea of black and white masks, silent has the grave.

O0o00o0o0o0o0ooo00

Naruto sat across from Mizuki, staring at the man who stared at the table. Mizuki hadn't even tried protesting his guilt. In fact, he hadn't bothered trying anything. He just sat there, staring at nothing, saying nothing and responding to nothing. Finally Naruto had enough. He would make the man talk; he would not fail his Hokage.

He pulled deep within himself, the new power that he held within himself. He wasn't sure how to use it, just letted the power guide him. Catching Mizuki's eyes he whispered the words that flowed onto his lips.

_::Kistune Intrapment:: _

Naruto watched in morbid facination and Mizuki at first seemed uneffected, then he slowly but surely seemed to loose his touch with reality. He began scratching at his face, arms and even the air around him, screaming for whatever was torturing him to stop.

"Just tell me what I want to know and they'll go away", Naruto cooed. "Just a few secrets and you'll be safe."

"No! No! N-nno! I can't! Get them off! Get them off!"

"Come now love, just tell me and they'll go away. Let me take your pain away" Naruto's eye lit up an eerie blue, cold and beautiful. Naruto took Mizuki's face between his hands, caressing it lovingly, cooing sweet promises into his ear as the maddness and horror increased.

It only took two more minutes for Mizuki to spill all he knew between giant sobs.

Looking to the window, Ibiki gave Naruto a nod of go ahead. Naruto was far too submerged into his new self to feel anything but excitement. Keeping his promise, Naruto changed the illusion surround Mizuki to something more pleasant before snapping his neck.

Dieing with a peaceful smile was more then the man deserved.


	5. Chapter 4

Naruto braided his hair in the mirror, enjoying how his ear tails caressed his face. Tying off the end of the long braid with ninja wire, he allowed the heavy hair to curl down his back until it hit the back of his knees. He was unused to the weight, but couldn't bring himself to even think of cutting it. Slipping on his slippers, he exited his clean apartment. He had found that since his change, he had begun to enjoy the more domestic aspects of life. He had picked up sewing as a hobby, and cleaned his home on a regular basis. His windowsill garden was overflowing with greenery, and he had several potted plants in his home too.

Making sure he locked the door behind him, he left his apartment. He had nothing to do today. He was waiting for Ibiki's review on his first mission to see if he would be accepted into ANBU and where he would be placed as far as teams or department.

So today he planned on making an appearance in his true form and establishing his existence. Obviously he could not go by the name Naruto in his body, so as he walked he wondered what he should call himself in this form.

Naru would be too obvious. Oturan would easily be figured out by anyone looking-his own name backwards. Anything relating back to Uzu, Inari or the life he once had could be equally as damning. He wanted something forgettable and common. In a shinobi village, too common was an issue as well. No one is a shinobi village was 100% normal or average.

A name, a name…how ridiculous that something so basic was so hard to choose. He wanted a name that began with N, making it easier for him to naturally respond to it. Noboru, for rise? No, too close to 'noodle'. Nori for rule? No, too close to food still. Naoki, for docile tree? Eh, too close to Doki. Nobu, for faith? He had little of that. N, N, N…and then like lightening, Naruto knew what he would call himself. A faint smirk curled the corner of his mouth in amusement of the irony.

With new purpose he headed to a shinobi bar. While it was still early, shinobi bars were open 24/7. Shinobis returned from missions at all times of the day and night, and more often than not, a strong drink was wanted to calm nerves, settle down, morn or celebrate. Civilians were not allowed in shinobi bars, unless they worked there or were married/related to a shinobi. A shinobi bar was a place to relax, to throw shuriken at fellow ninjas in jest and not fear someone getting in the way or not dodging; a place to talk about the bloodier parts of life without fear or shame; a place to let down masks without fear of losing face.

A perfect place to meet shinobi. A perfect place to start his legacy.

O0o0o0o0o0o

The Senbon was a worn down building in the red light district of Konoha. Its glass was foggy and dirty, the sign faded and shingles were missing from the roof. The door was off the bottom henge, causing it to squeak and drag when open. It was done in a western style, having chairs and tables on the inside and stools lined the bar. Various bottles were behind the bar and glasses lined the back counter. The bar could easily be looked into, and many shinobi who were paranoid from age could watch their drinks being made, making sure nothing was slipped into their beverage. A small grill stood off to the side for the few foods served, also easily watched and the backroom's doors were made of glass. The bathroom's doors were solid and new looking, lockable only from the inside with windows the led to the outside.

The floor was wooden and warped from age and liquids being spilt on it. Dents were visible in the walls and holes from weapons. Dart boards and posters for target practice lined to walls at random and a few were placed on the ceiling. In the far corners there were pools tables and a single pinball machine with a Hello Kitty theme sat beside the farthest pool table. The original name of the machine had been scratched out, and painted with the words "Anko's Bitch" instead.

The place smelt of sake and smoke. But it was surprisingly clean. The floor was not sticky, the tables were not greasy and the chairs were nicely cushioned, along with the few darkly lit booths the lined the walls.

As expected, there were already shinobi present. A group of ANBU were playing darts with senbon in the corner, one had a stark white bandage wrapped around his arm and blood had stained the fabric from the injury.

Several miscellaneous shinobis of various rankings were scattered throughout the bar. Naruto licked his lips, tasting the smoky air. Confidently he quietly made his way through the crowded bar, making his way to the stools. Taking a seat, he ordered a bottle of warm sake and pork dumplings. Watching with interest as the bartender began frying his food; he rested his head on his hand, causing his braid to swing with the movement.

He heard a light rustle of fabric and allowed his eyes to slide over to his left, looking at the person who casually took a seat next to him. It didn't surprise him. He was a new face and no doubt the man that sat next to him was someone who wanted to scope out the new person.

Naruto shifted himself to fully face the person, not bothering to hide the fact he was looking at the man. He was of average height, with choppy, brown hair that reached just past his chin. His face was plain, with plain brown eyes and dark, thin eyebrows. His hitai-ate was worn like a bandana, covering the top part of his head. A senbon casually hung from his lips, clicking against his teeth. He had a lean body type that was typical of shinobi, and worn the standard jonin outfit.

Slowly blinking, Naruto allowed his eyes to wander back to the man's own, raising an eyebrow in question. Just as Naruto was about to open his mouth, his food was set in front of him. Muttering a low 'itadakimasu' Naruto reached for a pair of chopsticks and calmly snapped them open. Picking up the dumpling, he dipped it in the sauce provided as he bit into the soft outside of his treat. He faintly moaned at the wonderful taste. His sense of taste had been heightened, and he could taste each spice. Too into his meal to care, Naruto licked the chopstick for all flavoring left behind.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

When Genma had first seen the creature before him enter the bar, he had been curious. He had never seen this man before either in this bar or around town. He often worked in the mission room with Iruka, and so he knew nearly everyone who came through Konoha.

He was obviously a shinobi, which was evident by the way he moved. He was most likely ANBU, for the small group in the corner had briefly paused to look at him before continuing with their game.

Genma had sat next to the beautiful man, with the intent to find information on the stranger and perhaps figure out which ANBU he was. There was an ongoing betting pool for which ANBU was which and the betting pool in the mission room's lounge was always open. Genma wouldn't mind a few extra yen.

When the man turned to him and eyed him up, Genma had taken the opportunity to do the same. The man wore a rather girly outfit, and was feminine in appearance. He had pointed ears and slight fangs, a relative of the Inuzuka clan perhaps?

When he met the eyes of the strange man, he couldn't help but suppress a shiver. The man's eyes were a cold blue, like ice. They were cruel looking, set in his vulpine face. He waited as the man's mouth opened, only to be interrupted by the stranger's food.

As he watched the man eat, Genma felt his eyes widen.

'This man…must be sent from hell to temp me.' He thought as his pant tightened. The stranger moaned, molesting his chopsticks with his pink tongue. His mind blanked out, watching as the man finished the dish with a disappointed sigh. Genma feared the man was going to lick his plate with the way he was eyeing the remaining juices from the dumplings.

"Those were…yummy." The blue-eyed devil's smooth voice snapped Genma out of his stupor.

"Oh?" Genma asked, from lack of anything else to say.

"Mm. So, what brings you here?" The stranger asked, putting his chopstick down on the now empty plate. Genma let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Ah. I've never seen you around before, so I thought I'd introduce myself. My name's Shiranui Genma, Tokubetsu Jonin. You are?"

"Kaneko Nao(1), it's a…pleasure Shiranui-san" Nao inclined his head in greeting.

"Aa. Please, call me Genma, there's no need for formality between comrades."

"Very well Genma-san. Then please, call me Nao."

"Nao it is then. What brings you here?" Genma chose to ignore the '-san' attached to the end of his name.

"I'm new to town and thought I'd see the local haunts."

"New? You're a transfer from another village then?"

"In a way, I suppose I am. My village was destroyed and I came to Konoha for sanctuary. I was only just recently cleared." It was typical of villages to welcome new shinobi, but often they had to go through several ordeals in order to be 'released' into the general populace.

"Ah, welcome then." Genma fiddled with his senbon, thinking of new conversation topics.

"Thank you, Genma-san. Is there any other places you suggest me visiting?"

'Perfect.' "Aa. Are you busy tomorrow? Perhaps I could show you around?" Genma watched is fascination as Nao's lips curved into predator's smile.

"It's a date, Genma-san. Where would you like to meet?"

'Somehow', Genma thought to himself as he told Naruto where to meet him, 'somehow I see myself regretting this decision.'

O0o0o0o0o0

Nao meaning Dosile, Kaneko meaning gold child


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto whistled, leaning against the railing of the bridge as he waited for Genma. The man was interesting, even with his average appearance. He had seemed nervous around Naruto, a reaction that Naruto was going to milk for all it was worth. He frowned, blowing a loose strand of hair out of his face. Before his change, he would of never of thought such a devious thought. Playing pranks, sure, but enjoying another's discomfort? He had always gone out of the way previously to gain the approval of others.

He should have been worried about the noticeable changes to his psyche, but he just couldn't bring himself to be bothered.

Naruto gracefully pushed off the railing as he heard footsteps approach. Running his hands down his deep red with orange and black koi decorate kimono, he turned his head to great Genma.

"Good evening Genma-san." He greeted respectfully.

"Good evening Nao." Genma was wearing standard ninja pants and a plain, dark blue t-shirt, his hitai-ate and senbon present as usual. "Are you ready?"

"Mm!" Naruto smiled encouragingly at Genma, genuinely excited to see his village through new eyes.

The day was enlightening. Naruto was shown to several shinobi supply stores he wasn't aware of, several training grounds, quick food stops, common haunts and places not to go. They ended their day back at The Senbon where Genma introduced him to several other shinobi.

"This is Raido, Kakashi and Ibiki. Everyone, this is Kaneko Nao, he's only just recently joined the ranks of Konoha."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me." Naruto humbly bowed in greeting, a sweet grin on his face that looked more sinister then anything.

Any chance of a reply was cut short by the one and only…

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL, YOSH!"

Gai.

Naruto felt his eyes widen in horror and fascination. The man was clothed in a green leotard which showed each bulging muscle. Naruto thought fleetingly that the man could have been attractive…with some grooming.

While Kakashi was pretending to ignore Gai and Gai was harassing Kakashi, Naruto used his opportunity to study the others.

Raido was once attractive, but the scars marring his face no doubt destroyed his chances of dating anyone that didn't understand the scars. The same could be said about Ibiki, but only at a larger degree. It was strange to Naruto, that the most unstable of ninja were the most attractive in most cases.

Turning his attention back to the scene happening, he realized that Gai had stopped his monolog and was now focusing his attention on Naruto.

"Hello, I'm Nao a recent recruit to Konoha. Please take care of me…?" Naruto let the end trail off into an obvious question as to who Gai was.

"YOSH! A NEW YOUTHFUL COMRADE! I AM MAITO GAI, JONIN TO THE PROUD LEAF VILLAGE!"

"Ah, I see Maito-san. You must be a taijutsu specialist, hm?" Immediately all attention was focused on Naruto, Ibiki's scrutinization was particularly harsh.

"HAI FELLOW COMRADE! I SEE MY REPUTATION EXCEEDS ME!"

"Actually, your build did." Naruto once again smiled a devil's smile. He could practically taste the question in the air as Gai looked at him in question.

"Most ninja, like Genma-san here, are very slender in build. This is because their chakra gives them extra strength and less time is needed to focus on the muscles. They also rely more on ninjutsu to fight with, again leaving them with a slender build as they don't need the muscle. But as your spandex reveals to me Maito-san, you have a large amount of muscle and have built on it, leaving the only conclusion to be that you rely more on physical combat then chakra based combat." Through his whole explanation, Naruto's smile did not waiver, even as he made of show of looking up and down Gai's body when speaking of the spandex. He was rewarded by a light blush on the taijutsu master's face.

"That's very observant of you, Kaneko-san." Ibiki stated.

"Please all of you, call me Nao, we're comrades after all." Naruto said easily. The others easily granted the same privileges to Naruto.

"Mm, were you always so…observant Nao?" Raido asked.

Naruto's devil grin grew a slight more sinister, "Only when it comes to the body, Raido-san."

"Oh?" Kakashi asked, finally looking up from his ever present orange book.

"For instance Kakashi, I know that you have three masks on." Naruto tilted his head in mock innocence even as Kakashi's body stiffened.

"I also know that Genma's fighting style replies more one speed and long distance, Ibiki has the appearance of a melee fighter, but isn't and that Raido specializes in poisons." Naruto calmly took a drink out of his glass, enjoying their gradual discomfort.

"You each have tell-tale signs you see. They're easy enough to spot when you know what you're looking for."

"Do share, Nao" Raido's voice cut through the quiet.

"Kakashi's is easiest. The outside mask is visible and I can easily see the seam of the second mask but a more noticeable imprint of your facial feature would still be present if you were only wearing two, but you're not breathing so heavily because the fabric is suffocating you, leaving me with the conclusion that you're wearing three masks." Naruto smiled at Kakashi, who blinked lazily and went back to reading.

"I can tell Genma's fighting style because his legs are the most developed of his body and he constantly has a senbon hanging out of his mouth, leading me to believe he's a long distance fighter. Ibiki's was the hardest. The only thing that gave him away was his lack of weapons and large chakra reserves. As for you Radio-san…" Naruto trailed off, "I'll only tell you at a price."

Radio's eyebrow lifted in curiosity. "Oh? What is the price?"

Naruto's smile took a more sensual turn and everyone at the table shifted in response.

"Genma took me on a lovely tour today, so I think it would be unfair of me to ask him to show me my way home. I'll tell you how I know you work with poisons; in return, you will walk me to my street." Naruto practically purred.

"Mm, very well Nao" Raido agreed easily enough.

Naruto gave a dramatic pause, taking a loud and long inhale through his nose then letting it his out his teeth.

"I can smell it on you. You practically reek of it, to the point my nose tingles from the slight residue" Raido gave a nod of acknowledgment.

"Ma Nao, can you smell what kinds are on him?" Kakashi brought everyone's staring gaze to himself with the question.

"In a way; if I knew what each smell was, I could separate, but seeing as most poison masters use their own home brew, I don't know what I'm smelling, just that they're different."

Kakashi hummed a reply and conversation was quickly shifted to more mundane topics. Eventually everyone relaxed more around Nao, who became more teasing and open. His cold and cruel smile and sharp eyes quickly became accepted as just a part of Nao then threatening.

Two hours later, Genma was swaying on his feet and Raido was a little more willing to grin than usual. Calling it a night, Naruto reminded Raido of his promise to escort him part way to his home.

"Ah. Let me go pay my tab Nao, I'll meet you ou'side." Raido mumbled, nodding a little too much.

"Very well. Come along Genma, let's get you some fresh air" Gai and Kakashi had left together, Kakashi supporting Gai who was more than a little drunk. Ibiki had offered to take Genma home, but was in the bathroom currently.

Stumbling outside, Genma was talking gibberish about nothing until…

"You're really p'urty y'know? W'en I fi'st saw yoooou, I was like 'Damn, he's got a'nice assk' and I w's right, y'do" Genma giggled a little, making a point to lean back to stare at Naruto's ass. (Translation: You're really pretty you know? When I first saw you, I was like Damn, he's got a nice ass and I was right, you do)

Blinking a little bit, Naruto enjoyed the warm swirling sensation in his stomach at the compliment. He mentally preened under the praise.

"Thank you Genma-san, no one's complimented me before."

"N'one? Pfft, their lose then…do I get a reward?"

"A reward Genma-san?"

"Ya, a reward! I s'owed you 'round, intre…intra…showed you to m'friends and stuff, I deserve a r'ward!" Genma was getting a little louder but still had a playful grin on his face. (Translation: Ya, a reward! I showed you around, [trying to figure out how to say introduced] showed you to my friends and stuff, I deserve a reward!)

"And what type of reward do you desire, Genma-kun? Hmm? Tell me, what do you desire?" Naruto could feel his new power swirling within him and it excited him. His grin was that of an incubus's, all sin and sex.

"Mmmmm" Genma pretended to think hard, complete with tongue sticking out of his mouth. "Kiss'me"

"A kiss?" Naruto teased gently, his face already closer to Genma's.

"Yeah, I'wan a kiss from the pretty." Genma stared up at Naruto, all puppy eyes.

"Well, how can I say no to my generous tour guide?" Naruto leaned even closer to Genma, their breath's mingling.

"However Genma-kun" Naruto purred out, "I don't want our kiss interrupted and I want you to remember it. So we'll have to wait until we meet next." With that, Naruto pulled away as both heard Ibiki's footsteps approach. Giving Naruto a disappointed pout, Genma allowed himself to be lead away by a more sober Ibiki. Giving both shinobi a nod goodbye, Naruto only waited a few more minutes for Raido to exit as well.

"Shall we?" Naruto murmured, indicating that pathway. Nodding to Naruto, Raido began walking beside his companion.

Walking in comfortable silence, they were almost to the designated street when Raido saw Naruto make a quick turn into a darkened alley.

"Nao? What are you doing?" Raido called a few steps away from the entrance of the alley.

A hand reached out grabbing the front of his flank jacket and quickly pulled him into the shadow. Raido cursed, realizing the drinks had made him slow to react. He closed his eyes, preparing for death or whatever was to come, all the while cursing the man he had begun to trust.

Until he felt something warm on his lips. Gasping in surprise, his eyes snapped open only for them to look into familiar, cat like eyes that sparkled in the moon light. Raido's already open mouth went slack from surprise.

Using the slight opening of Raido's mouth, Naruto slithered his tongue into Raido's mouth; caressing teeth, teasing the roof of his mouth and finally convincing Raido's tongue to play in his sensual dance. He nearly smiled when Raido moaned and gave in, bringing his arms up to wrap around Naruto's neck, pulling him down to further deepen the kiss. Naruto was enjoying himself. The power he had felt since Genma's request shifted under his skin pleasantly, guiding him in the steps to follow.

Wet sounds could be heard from their mouths as there tongue's caressed and massaged one another. At one point when Raido pulled away slightly to breath, Naruto lightly bit at Raido's bottom lip, gaining a loud groan. Encourage by the sound, Naruto began moving his mouth further down, nipping at whatever flesh was open to him. Finally resting at the neck, Naruto began to enthusiastically suck and bite, enjoying everyone moan, groan and sigh that Raido released.

Shifting a little, Naruto brought his knee up between Raido's legs, pleased to find a hardened bulge waiting for his attention. Moving back up to Raido's ear, Naruto harshly whispered filthy things that he was going to do to Raido, which just excited him more.

"You like this, don't you? Pushed against the wall in some dirty alleyway like a two-bit whore. Since you're moaning so nicely, I guess my little whore deserves a reward, hmmm? Well whore? Do you deserve it?" Naruto pulled viciously at Raido's hair, smiling out the even louder moan was heard. "Such a good bitch." Naruto murmured as he deftly opened Raido's pants. "Such a good little slut, begging for my touch." Naruto gave Raido's hot cock a vicious squeeze and a long stroke, causing Raido back to arch of the wall and for him to give an encouraging gasp.

Naruto continue to stroke and tease the cock in his hands, enjoying the gasps and facial expressions of his partner. Raido had completely lost it, his mouth open in a 'O' of pleasure, saliva ran down from his mouth from the earlier kisses. When he began to beg for release, Naruto knew it was time for the next step.

"Please let me come, please, please, please. Need to come, need to, ah ah, please!" Raido was desperate for release. He cried out in surprise at the sudden slap to his cock.

"Naughty whore, thinking about your own release instead of mine? Selfish little slut. I'm giving you all this pleasure, all you want, but you can only think of yourself, I'm disappointed" Naruto have a particularly harsh pull, running his claw like nails along the underside of Raido's cock.

"Sorry sorry sorry, wanna come!"

"Oh? You want to come? You have to earn the right first, my little slut" Naruto jabbed his fingernail into Raido's cock slit, enjoying it as Raido completely came off the wall with a harsh shout. "Well? Are you going to earn it?"

"Yes, mmm, Yes! What…?" Raido would give anything at that moment to come. He felt drunk with pleasure and it just kept building up. He could feel the release, just out of reach.

Purring sensually and almost cruelly into Raido's ear, Naruto gave his condition.

"Good whores put their master's cock in their mouth, don't they, bitch?"

Raido groaned, the words going straight to his cock. Fumbling away from the wall, he fell gracelessly to his knees on the cold concrete of the alley. He frantically pulled the fabric away from his goal and nearly groaned in relief when Naruto's cock twitched in his face. It was long, huge actually and curved slightly upward. His groin was hairless, as was his legs. The tip of his cock was pink, but the rest of it was pale, almost glowing in the moonlight. A pearl of pre-cum was already gathered at the tip, and Raido's tongue eagerly darted out the grab the glob.

Naruto's cock twitched at the contact and Raido nearly groaned at the taste. It was unnaturally sweet, like fruit. Opening his mouth, he let his tongue map out the massive cock in front of him first. Making broad sweeps over the cock, he coated it with his shiny saliva.

"Enough playing pet. Suck me" Naruto commanded, pushing Raido's head closer to his cock.

Opening his mouth into a large 'O', Raido eagerly sucked the cock down as far as he could go; taking pleasure in the moan he received for his efforts.

"That's it baby, just like that" Naruto encouraged as he began lightly thrusting his hips, moving his cock in and out of Raido's sucking mouth.

A wet 'slick' sounds could be heard as Naruto began fucking Raido's face eagerly. Watching his cock disappear and reappear into Raido's mouth, coming out wet with ropes of saliva and pre-cum attached to his bitch's mouth, hearing him groan in pleasure and giving wet sucks, eager for the return of his cock…Naruto was in heaven.

Sticking his foot out, he began caressing Raido's neglected cock with his shoe. Raido seemed to enjoy the attention, moaning around the cock in his mouth. The vibration was wonderful, and so Naruto would randomly play with his toy's cock to get a repeat of the action.

Feeling himself closer to the edge, Naruto grabbed Raido's face and begun fucking it in earnest. Raido relaxed, allowing his head to be held still or moved and Naruto like and he felt the huge cock nudge the back of this throat. He moaned, enjoying being used and could feel his own cock swell.

"That's it bitch, take it like a good slut. Swallow down all of my seed, mmm" Finally Naruto came, in large amounts of white, warm cum that seemed to fill Raido up. Raido relaxed his throat, occasionally swallowing around the large cock that rested in his mouth, spurting out the sweet fluids. After several minutes, Naruto's spent cock slipped out from between Raido's lips, a thin string of cum attaching from the cock to Raido's mouth.

"Good whore. Now for your reward" Naruto pulled Raido up from his position and concentrated chakra to his fingertips. "Come" he commanded as he ran the chakra laced fingers down Raido's purple cock. Giving a horse shot of pleasure, Raido came, long streams of cum shot out from his overexcited cock, hitting himself in the face and some landing in his open mouth. Naruto purred, and began licking the cum off Raido's face, causing his spent cock to twitch just a little bit.

"Mm, wasn't that fun, Raido-kun?" Naruto purred as Raido's eyes slowly closed, exhausted from the pleasure. "We'll surely have to do it again, pet."


	7. Chapter 7

Woo, I got a new job! Fuck you Blockbuster, I now work for a company that actually treats me like a person!

* * *

Naruto woke slowly. Today was the day he had to go get his picture taken for his genin profile. Sighing softly, he padded to the bathroom, took a shower and transformed into his Naruto form. Today was the day he had to have his picture taken and officially meet his genin team. He was thrilled. Really.

Almost pouting, Naruto pulled on the hideous and scratchy orange monstrosity that he once wore with such pride before. Gods, but back then he had such horrible tastes! Tying his headband around his spiked hair, Naruto quickly pasted a smile on his face and made his way to the academy.

Fuck.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sighing again, Naruto opened the door to his class room and walked to his seat. He was still waiting to see if he'd be accepted into ANBU, but no matter the outcome, he was still expected to keep up his appearance as Naruto. People would start to question if the 'demon brat' jumped ranks or disappeared after all.

"Oi, don't you know this is for graduates only?" Some Nara commented as he walked in.

Naruto just stared at him like he was a moron and then pointed to his head band. The kid reddened, turning away in embarrassment.

Sitting down in the chair closest to the window, Naruto began gazing outside, wishing he was somewhere else. Other genins began filtering in, sitting next to friends turned comrades. He stifled his hurt when his classmates avoided the seat next to him like the plague. There was a commotion at the door and Sakura (really, what had he been thinking?) and Ino brought their drama into the classroom, fighting over who would sit next to Sasuke. Really? All he did was grunt, how was that attractive? He was actually pretty plain compared to others, typical Japanese features and coloring…boring.

He looked over in surprise when the chair beside him was moved. Shino had decided to sit beside him, most likely to avoid making his classmates uncomfortable by being forced to sit next to a living hive. Naruto found it ironic himself-both containers of something 'not-human' and the social outcasts of the school sat beside each other in comfortable silence. It was nice, for once, not to be glared at or made fun of and knowing that his sitting companion hated him.

Naruto turned slowly, blinking at the Aburame.

"Congratulations", he stated seriously, glancing at the headband that the Aburame proudly displayed.

Shino turned his head in Naruto's direction, and nodded in thanks, "Ah. You too, Uzumaki." his voice was deeper than most, slightly course from disuse.

CRASH!

Both Naruto and Shino turned to see the cause of the commotion. Apparently in their never-ending, mythical struggle for true love, aka 'the seat beside Sasuke' both Sakura and Ino had managed to break the chair onto the table, causing not only the chair's legs to break clean off, but the table to collapse as well. Sasuke's legs where then hit by the collapsing wood, causing a knee jerk reaction and for him to fall of his chair, into the rubble.

It was suddenly so silent, you could hear a pin drop as everyone waited with baited breathe for Sasuke's reaction. Half the class silently hoped he'd get up and brush himself off, the other half hoped he would finally snap at the two.

The fun was cut short when the classroom door banged opened, Iruka-sensei striding in; too busy reading his clipboard to notice the spectacle.

"Alright everyone, get to your seats…wha?" Iruka's carefully planned speech was shot to crap as he saw the mess that was currently on display.

"Explain. Now." Iruka was getting red, a vain in his temple throbbing. Really? This was the future generation? They were doomed.

"It's all Sakura's fault!""It's all Ino's fault!" the girls screamed, pointing at each other.

"Sasuke?" Iruka questioned dangerously, looking at the fallen boy.

"Hn." Yeah, that was it.

Iruka's face got even redder and everyone slowly backed away, ready for full on rant-Iruka.

.

..

…

…..

….

"I have never been so disgusted in my life. You are the next generation? Pathetic." Sakura and Ino winced at the harsh words.

"Out of all of you that have passed today, in 5 years only 40% of you will still be alive. Attitudes like what Sakura and Ino-san have just showed you is what gets you and your comrades killed. You are shinobi of the leaf, act like it. We have no time to suffer fools or nurture hurt egos. Grow. Up." Sasuke glowered at the floor.

"Pick yourself up, and clean up this mess. I've never regretted my decision to pass someone as much as I have now." The girls, now silent in shame and embarrassment, quickly scuttled to the supply closest for cleaning supplies.

"I will now be calling out your assigned teams and sensei. This is directly from the hokage and is nonnegotiable. This is your new family. You will train with them, sweat with them, bleed with them, eat with them and some of you will even die with them. I suggest any difference you have be put aside. Team One is…" and so the Iruka went down the list, each being assign. Groans and sighs were stifled, not wanting to draw any of Iruka's ire.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Naruto resisted the urge to bang his head on the table. Team 7 consisting of him, "Pink-pile-of-useless" Sakura, and "I'm-going-to-whine-and-be-unsocialable" Sasuke…Naruto wondered who he'd pissed off in the pyramid scheme. Well, at least his sensei wasn't a complete waste; Copy-cat Kakashi, the only living wielder of _those_ eyes other than Sasuke and Itachi.

Five bucks said he played favorites with lil'Sasuke~chan. Pfft.

Now Naruto was bored. Teams had been assigned and they were left waiting for their sensei. They had been given a brief break, but Naruto had eaten a large breakfast (Sushi, mmm) and had merely munched on an apple he had brought with him without leaving his seat.

The classroom began emptying group by group as their sensei came to pick them up. Waving goodbye to Shino, Naruto propped himself up to completely sit in the window. Eventually, even Iruka left and the newly dubbed Team 7 waited for their sensei.

Two hours in, Naruto had had enough. Dropping his feat down on the outside of the windowsill, Naruto slowly slid his body outside. Sakura was too busy staring at Sasuke, who was too busy 'brooding' to notice Naruto silently slip out of the classroom.

Applying chakra to his feet and hands, Naruto began climbing up the academy's walls until he reached to roof. Finding a bench, he laid down and slowly drifted off, enjoying the feeling of the sun and slight breeze.

O0o0o0o0o0o

Two hours Team 7 had been waiting for their sensei. The duo left in the classroom had finally noticed Naruto's disappearance, and both silently vowed to tattle as soon as possible. Naruto meanwhile was still lightly napping on the roof, oblivious to it all.

Finally the door to the class room slid open, and the man of the hour arrived. He was slightly disappointed at the lack of reaction (besides the glaring) that he received when he walked into the classroom.

"Mah, where's the third munchkin?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.

"He left" Sakura replied heatedly.

"Oh? When?" Kakashi had finally fished out his orange book and happily focused on the novel.

"Eto…." Sakura thought hard, when had he left? "I don't know" she mumbled faintly.

"I see. My first impression of you is….I hate you. Meet me on the roof." He said, leaving the gasping genin behind.

Appearing on the roof, Kakashi was a little surprised to see (what he assumed) was the third member of his newest victims.

Naruto was sleeping peacefully; face relaxed and spiked hair swaying gently in the evening wind.

'He looks like…' Kakashi couldn't bring himself to finish with the painful comparison.

Finally the other two members of the team burst through the roof's door. Both were noticeably surprised to see Naruto sleeping casually on the roof.

"Mah, apparently your teammate never left", Kakashi noted casually, "you may want to wake him up." Kakashi pointed looked at Sakura as the final words left his mouth.

Sakura for her part looked like she had just been asked to touch dog shit with her bare hands. Scooting slowly to Naruto, she reached out a trembling finger and poked him in the side. When nothing happened, she repeated the gesture a little bit more forcefully; again, no reaction from the sleeping Uzumaki. Getting angry at the lack of response, she reared her fist back, ready to punch the sleeping fox, only to make contact with hard wood was Naruto abruptly sat up straight.

Yawning, Naruto rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, looking muddled and tired for all intents and purposes. In reality, he was snickering in his head at Sakura's pain.

"Mmm? Is it morning already?" Naruto acted sleep muddled, making a show of looking around and his eyes widening in understanding.

"Oh, I must have fallen asleep huh? He he" Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his neck as he laughed at himself.

Without pause, Kakashi had them introduce themselves (while giving up no information himself besides his names) and Naruto played his part. After they were dismissed, Naruto quickly made his way to his apartment.

'Team 7 huh? This is gonna be an awesome cluster-fuck.'

O0o0o0o0o0

[Was gonna end it here, but I have nothing to do at work and access to word so…happy un-birthday!]

D-rank missions were the funniest things Naruto had ever witnessed. See the Uchiha need deep in pond muck? Fuck yes. Sakura covered in cat scratches? Oh yeah. Kakashi getting yelled at by an old lady for reading porn in front of 'young, impressionable children'? Sign me up for that shit! Not that it didn't have pit falls for Naruto too, but really? Whitewashing a fence was annoying and tedious, but eh, he was getting paid so what did he care?

Currently he and his team were doing his second favorite D-mission ever; Tora catching. It was almost a daily thing and Tora had instantly taken a liking to Naruto and his magical scratching fingers. As the team would split up to locate the cat, Tora would immediately seek out Naruto (who would then lie about his location and his supposed cat sightings) they would then find a tree far away from where his team was searching and enjoy each other's company. The fat cat was a purring machine and Naruto found the rhythmic petting motions to be calming and Tora loved the attention of the Inari-blessed.

A few hours in, and Tora would indicated he wanted to return to his owner for feeding and Naruto would 'catch' Tora, returning him to the Fire Daimio's wife. Said wife noticed that cat's attachment to Naruto and seeing how much they liked each other, hired Naruto for a few tasks by himself. They became fast friends and now had tea together almost regularly.

While Tora was wonderful, he always looked forward to his favorite D-rank task: babysitting. Sure, it wasn't glorifying, but Naruto loved children. Their soft hair, clean smell and radiant innocent sucked him in like a moth to the flame. With his fun and carefree personality, children also loved him. Babies especially found his whisker marks to be fascinating.

Having returned Tora to his master, team 7 received their last mission of the day; babysitting a baby of 6months for a kinochi who was on patrol duty for the night. They had been asked for specifically.

Upon arriving to their client's home, they were surprised when the women who opened the door apparently knew Naruto.

"Ah, Naruto-san, thanks for showing up! You know how it goes. Ichi-chan is napping in his crib and his breast milk is in the fridge. I'll see you when I get back!" Kissing Naruto on the forehead, the frazzled woman quickly jumped to the roof tops.

"…bye?"Kakashi mumbled, slightly dazed.

Completely unperturbed, Naruto stepped inside the woman's house and made his way to the rear bedroom just as a piercing wail escaped the once sleeping infant. The rest of team 7 quickly followed.

They watched as the baby quieted upon seeing Naruto, squealing a giggle as his pudgy hands reached for the Uzumaki.

Cooing nonsense words to the baby, Naruto held Ichi up to his face as the baby began to happily babble and trace his whisker marks.

'What…'

'…the…'

'…fuck…' the rest of team 7 thought, following dumbly as Naruto made his way to the kitchen.

Putting on a pot, he began the process of boiling water to heat the bottled milk.

"Here sensei, hold him while a get it ready?" Naruto questioned, handing off baby Ichi to the stunned Kakashi.

Naruto watched as Kakashi looked at the baby as if it was an exploding tag, holding it far away from his body as possible.

"Sensei, hold him like this. See? Now support his head, there, not too hard is it?" Naruto easily came over and adjusted Kakashi's hold on the baby, who quickly began teething on the snaps on Kakashi's jonin vest.

Eventually the team settled in the living room, some movie playing on the TV as Naruto cuddled the baby who was nodding off.

"How do you know Ichi's mother, Naruto?" Sakura asked, breaking the silence.

"Mah," Naruto gently ran his hand across Ichi's head, loving the softness. "Her sister taught me how to read. When her sister was killed on a…mission, I met her. She offered to hire me for odd jobs she couldn't do because of her pregnancy and eventually I began taking care of Ichi too. I love kids, so it was nice…"

"Ano, why do you like children so much?" Sakura questioned in her usual curious fashion.

"…They don't judge" Naruto whispered, smelling the baby's clean sent.

It was quiet after that, and the rest of the team went home when Ichi's mother returned.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The next day team 7 went to receive yet another batch of D-ranked missions…only this time…

"Give us something more challenging" everyone, Iruka included, stared stunned at Sasuke.

Sasuke had actually spoken up about something? Then again, it wasn't that surprising considering his personality. He probably saw the D-ranks as holding him back.

Just as Iruka inhaled to berate the boy, the hokage hummed thoughtfully. Eyeing his old teammates whose eyes were practically demanding he gave in, he decided it was time to progress things forward.

O0o0o0o0o00o0o

Naruto decided he hated Tazuna. The man smelt of bad liquor and lies. It was bad enough he had to act stupid and deal with Sakura's blathering, but walking down wind of that man...ick.

It wasn't even an hour out that it became apparent that something was very wrong. A puddle on a sunny day may be dismissible if it had rained recently, but Konoha's rainy season was over and it hadn't rained for months.

It was in that moment, the real fun began.


	8. Chapter 8

So I've started to write during slow times at work seeing as they have MS office. Yay for more updates!

Also, for those of you who haven't noticed, every time I update a chapter, I switch the pairings. This is in the hopes that readers who only like certain pairings but would be ok with a harem can find the story a little bit easier. Ex: Reader123 only likes NaruGaa stories. I update a chapter, moving it from NaruKaka to NaruGaa, and since Reader123 filters Naru Gaa, the story pops up and now they know of its existence!

* * *

Upon first meeting Tazuna that evening in the mission room, Naruto had had an instant dislike of the man. He stank of cheap liquor and deception. Not even professional deception like Ibiki, no, he smelt like nervous fear. What was he afraid of? The smell would spike and then calm, in a seemingly never ending wave of smell.

It made Naruto itchy, uneasy. He felt like the monster stalking the prey…it made him anxious.

Following behind Tazuna, Naruto scanned the surrounding area. They were barely out of Konoha's boarders, maybe 5 miles into their long journey. Traveling on foot with civilians was the laminate of many shinobi-it made for such slow progress.

The puddle they passed would have been easily dismissible under any other circumstances. But it hadn't rained in quite a while and the sun cheerfully shown down on them and with Tazuna's very obvious discomfort…too many inconsistencies to be a simple coincidence.

And there lied the dilemma. Naruto could do nothing, keeping his own cover of the fool he played, and possibly causing later complications or he could say something, possibly blowing his cover but keeping his team safe…

Or…

Yeah, that'd work.

Letting his eyes light up in child-like glee, Naruto squealed like an idiot, ran and promptly splashed feet-first into the puddle. The water splashed up, soaking the bottom of his pants in the muddy water. Twin groans could be heard from the bottom of his feet. Acting freaked, Naruto screamed, quickly back peddling from the puddle.

"G-ghosts!" He yelled, pointing a shaking finger at the puddle.

Kakashi's eye narrowed as metal claws dug into the ground at the edge of the puddle. Jumping back he quickly barked out orders to his team as the enemies emerged; two shinobi, the "Demon Brothers" if his memory served him correctly. Chunin level…the first wave then. If they had been the real assassins, at least an elite jounin would be present as backup.

The brothers pulled the bladed chain taunt between themselves, snarling through their metal breathing masks. Suddenly they darted seemingly towards Kakashi, flanking his sides.

"Gozu, go!" the one on the left shouted, his warped from the mask. His hair was long and roughly cut, he looked to be the younger of the two. His head band sported two horns, while his brother's only had one in the center.

"On it, Meizu!" Gozu yelled back, his voice was softer and deeper than his brother's and he was less rough looking then his younger sibling.

Just as the two were about to wrap their shuriken chain around Kakashi, they released the chain. While the previous momentum flung the chain at Kakashi who had to bring his forearms up to protect his face, the brothers used to distraction to race after their true target: Tazuna.

O0o0o0o00o0

Naruto watched with detached interest as Sasuke went for the younger brother. Sakura had frozen and the older brother Gozu dodged passed her. Sighing internally, Naruto realized he was going to have to step in.

Jumping in front of Gozu, Naruto made eye contact with the surprised nin. The devil's smile on the otherwise angelic face seemed maliciously out of place and Gozu gave out a muffled sound of alarm as the child's eyes flashed a cold, diamond blue before returning to their warm blue.

_Gozu was surrounded by trees. There was a warm breeze, causing the leaves to dance gently. He felt at peace here, in this calm place. A small giggle sounded on the wind. Turning towards the sound he saw a flash a gold as whatever it was that caught his attention disappeared into the trees. Curious, Gozu followed. _

O0o0o0o00o0

Meizu had quickly taken down the brat that had attempted to stop him. Fucking green genin.

Going for Tazuna, he was stunned as his brother slumped over for a minute, only to straighten up and run off into the forest. Confused but assuming something was wrong, Meizu followed his brother.

O0o0o0o00o0

Kakashi weighed his options; he could leave behind his team and his 'mission' and follow the demon brothers but in doing so he'd leave his team and mission vulnerable. If he allowed the chunin to escape, they'd be able to report to their superiors and the element of surprise would be lost but, he didn't know if back up was already in route or not.

Sighing, he quickly made two shadow clones to follow the escaping nins, hoping to gain information at the very least. He turned back to his team, quickly checking their conditions. Seeing that no one was hurt, he turned to Tazuna with a violent promise in his eyes.

"Since my interrogation subjects have run off, it seems you're the only one available for questioning." Kakashi stated as he released a small amount of killer intent (is it ki, Ki, KI…?).

Tazuna broke like chopsticks before ramen. The whole story spilt out of his trembling lips, words seemingly blurred together.

At first, Kakashi wanted to turn around. They weren't ready to face a challenge like this, especially when the last loyal Uchiha could be killed. The council would at the least demote him and make his life hell.

"Failing our first mission would look very bad, neh, sensei?" Kakashi's eye darted to the side quickly. He had almost forgotten about Naruto, who stared intently at the tree line where the enemy ninja had fled.

"Don't be stupid dobe." The Uchiha stated calmly, staring at Kakashi, daring him to contradict him. Kakashi sighed internally, looking at the remaining member of his team his askance.

Sakura looked at Kakashi, fearful and pale. Her eyes drifted over to Sasuke as she felt his gaze burn her. Making eye contact, she realized that Sasuke would hate her if she asked to go back. She had no choice; she couldn't let her Sasuke-kun down. Eyes more determined Sakura looked at her sense

Kakashi slouched forward, resigned to their fate…his fate.

Fuck.

O0o00o0o0o00o00o

They had made it to the ferry boat with no more resistance. As they passed under the half-way constructed bridge, Tazuna told them more of their story, the ferryman shushing them half-heartedly.

Meanwhile, Naruto stared into the deep blue water, entranced at its dancing movements. It was beautiful. Konoha had a few small ponds, but they were mostly for water jutsu training, the water green from allege and use. No one really swam in them on purpose unless it was unbearably hot. He never had seen so much water in one place and so clean looking.

Dipping his hand into the water, he let his fingers trail along with the boat, surprised at the coldness. He wiggled his fingers, enjoying the sensation. Perhaps when they reached the shore, he'd sneak away and swim.

O0o00o0o0o00o00o

Meanwhile, ~5miles away in a large tree house, one demon brother reported to his taichou, the other was tied up in heavy rope and unconscious.

Gozu had not responded to any of Meizu's calls as he ran after his brother. It had become apparent he was under a strong genjutsu. He was unable to snap his brother out of it and in a fit of desperation, had injected him with a sedative and hog tied him in case he awoke hostile. After killing the two following shadow clones with well placed explosive tags, he and his 'package' made their way back to their current hideout.

Momochi Zabuza sat in a throne like chair, head casually propped up against his fist as he listened to the disturbing report, his Kubikiribocho leaned up against the wall.

Copy cat Kakashi, two brats, his target and a wild card…

He had already sent out Haku to observe, hopefully some clearer information would be had.

Who had placed Gozu in a seemingly unbreakable genjutsu? Which one...

That really was the question on the hour.

O0o00o0o0o00o00o

They walked through the depressing town. The people were timid and seemed beaten. Uncomfortable at the silence, Tazuna told the team about the hero of the wave-Kaiza. The man had almost become a martyr, if only the people of the wave had risen up instead of taking their defeat sitting down.

Sakura and Sasuke's expression showed pity and disgust and that decrypt conditions of the town and the people that lived in it. They pity only increased as they heard the tragic tale. Kakashi's face remained indifferent while Naruto schooled his expression to one of distracted interest.

The people here reminded him too much of what he could have become had he not had a stronger will.

He felt only disgust at their lack of motivation.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Finally arriving to Tazuna's home after a pit stop at a local grocery-if that pitiful store could be called that, team 7 finally relaxed a little. Tazuna introduced his family to team 7; his beautiful daughter Tsunami and his grandson, Inari.

Naruto nearly giggled himself sick when he was first introduced. Hopefully the boy would grow into his name. He was sure the real Inari appreciated the irony that a small, male, human boy carried the god's namesake.

The illusion of cute/funny lasted until the boy opened his mouth.

"I don't know why you bother; Gato's just going to kill you." Inari delivered it with such conviction that anyone could tell the boy truly believed it to be a fact.

The little boy turned around and walked away, ignoring his mother's reprimand.

Rude little shit.

0o0o0o0o0o0oo0

After a dinner of rice, meager vegetables and locally caught fish, Kakashi ushered his 'children' outside. Finding a clearing he set to the task of getting them to train.

"It is most likely that the Demon Brothers have notified their superiors at the situation and possibly have gotten back up. At the very least, they will return and be more prepared for the confrontation. Which is why today I'll teach you a new exercise-Tree walking." Kakashi said had been serious for the whole of his speech, but the eye smile and little sing-song way he had said tree walking destroyed any of the tension previously built.

"But sensei! We already know how to climb trees!" Sakura whined. Sasuke gave a silent 'Hn.' in agreement while Naruto rocked back and forth on his heels and humming, seemingly distracted by the surroundings.

"Oh? So you can climb trees…like this?" and just as Kakashi finished his sentence, he casually walked up the nearest tree, hands in pockets.

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened in understanding and awe, while Naruto was still more interested in the squirrel infestation.

"By focusing the right amount of chakra to your feet, you can easily scale up almost any surface. The trick is finding and maintaining the correct amount to the soles of your feet the whole time. It takes both chakra control and reserves. Use your kunai to mark your progress and you may want to get a running head start." Kakashi remarked casually from atop a rather high up limb. He propped himself up and pulled out a familiar orange book and zoned out.

Sakura made it up first, only to pant in exhaustion once she reached a tree limb.

"You have good control, but low reserves. Keep running up and down the tree to build up your reserves." Kakashi commanded half-heartedly.

Sasuke and Naruto's attempts failed wonderfully. Sasuke put too little chakra into the technique, causing him to slide off. Unfortunately, before he could fall on his ass, he made a slash mark in the bark, he then pushed off the tree, somersaulted in the air and landed on his feet. Naruto rolled his eyes at the theatrics, '_and the judge's scores are in, it looks like 3's all around.'_

While Sasuke had put too little in, Naruto put too much. His large stores made it hard to draw only on small amounts, and his new chakra wanted to explore the tree's own natural chakra and as a result, wasn't too interested in responding to Naruto. In response to his attempts, the chakra concentrated to his feet exploded out, causing the bark to splinter and break and for his body to be propelled violently backward. Landing in a crouch, Naruto dug his fingernails into the dirt to stop his body from continually sliding across the grass.

Hours later, Sasuke finally asked Sakura how she did it. When Naruto asked, she snubbed him but whispered into Sasuke's ear every tip she could think of. An hour later Sasuke walked down the tree, smirk spreading across his features in a smug victory.

Kakashi, seeing that two out of three had gotten it down and that light was fading, ushered his team back to Tazuna's home.

"Mah sensei, I think I'll stay up and practice a little longer, neh?" Naruto asked, his voice carefree and happy. Giving a nod of approval, the rest of team 7 disappeared into the incoming fog.

Seeing his team gone, Naruto sat down and pondered his situation. His chakra had no desire to cover his feet and create a barrier between himself and the tree. It reached out to the plant, wanting to explore it, talk to it and coax it. Sighing, he decided to see what would happen if he allowed his chakra to do what it desired. Walking up to the tree, Naruto once again placed a foot on the tree, allowing his chakra to go wild. His chakra instantly dove into the tree.

_Wild Free Grow Green Clean Earth Old Rain Death Rebirth NewSeedling Flowers Breeze Steps VISITOR_

Naruto stumbled back as the tree became aware of his existence. Its own chakra flooded into Naruto, poking and prodding in a way that reminded him faintly of a movie he'd seen a while back. In the movie, a zombie flick, the main character shot down a zombie, only to poke it with a stick to see if it really was dead; bad idea for the main character, slightly funny coming from a harmless tree.

___Character Title Rank Stage Words Describe…_…the tree was becoming frustrated at the difficulty of communication. People and animals communicate with words and gestures, plants had no voice and no movable body and therefore 'talked' in pictures and emotions. It was a strange experience, for a stream of pictures, memories and feelings to be presented rather than actual words.

_I don't understand._ Naruto tried to _feel_ the words, tried to picture himself with a questioning look and little question marks above his head.

_There was a boy and girl, holding hands. The girl giggled as the boy pulled out a pocket knife and carved into the bark of a nearby tree. The vision focused on the kanji cut into the bark, an arrow pointed to the names encircled by a sloppily drawn heart. _

'_My name?'_ Naruto thought as he pictured himself, the kanji that spelled his name floating beneath him.

The tree seemed to shake its leaves in greeting. Trees had no name and it seemed all trees where connected. The earth in which they grew allowed them to connect in one large interwoven network of _One_. It was a humbling experience, to realize how small one person was compared to the power of a single tree.

The tree posed a question to Naruto, showing him and the rest of team 7 climbing up its bark with a feeling of question.

Naruto in return showed images of shinobi running across the trees, evading enemies by climbing them and just walking up trees to sit in the branches.

The tree seemed to shrug, not understanding the purpose but not caring either.

Inspired, Naruto showed and image of Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi successfully climbing the tree but he himself failing, he then showed an image of himself making it to the top, but with a feeling of question.

The tree hesitated, seemingly thinking. Suddenly a diagram was pushed forward to his mind of someone's feet and their chakra attaching to the tree like hooks. The tree also tried to give Naruto the feeling of the chakra pressing against the bark, hoping to help anyway he could.

Naruto nodded, giving a feeling of understanding and revelation. The tree, encouraged and excited to be doing something other than experiencing, showed Naruto an image of a mama bird teaching a baby bird to fly with the feeling of encouragement.

"Ah, I will try" Naruto mumbled out loud, forgetting he was only talking to himself.

Taking a running leap, Naruto concentrated his chakra to his feet but instead of pushing it onto the tree; he focused more on his own feet. He stuck, like a fly of sticky paper. Overjoyed, Naruto immediately broke out into a happy little jig, the tree swayed in time with the invisible music.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Naruto was exhausted and sweaty from the thrice damned tree exercise and a swim was sounding lovely. He didn't have to walk far to find a freshwater lake, sparkling even in the heavy mist that had surfaced. Asking the nearest tree if anyone was nearby (_an empty clearing, not even the grass swayed in its stillness_) to which Naruto took as a 'No', Naruto allowed the illusion of the child he once was to drop.

The orange jump suit was replaced with flowing gauze, short yellow hair grew and shined, chewed fingernail grew and hardened into claws, and knobby knees grew out into smooth legs. Naruto's inner demon practically purred at the feeling of freedom. He tasted the air, enjoying the new smells and sounds of this new land.

Stripping out of his gauzy robe (he had no reason to wear anything else as he was taking on the appearance of younger Naruto) he allowed himself to slowly sink into the lukewarm water. He dunked under, allowing the sparkling water to close up all around him. Submerged, he swam around, exploring the bottom of the lake and seeing the life the flourished there.

Running out of air, he smoothly broke the surface and combed his hair away from his face. He leisurely swam around, enjoying the feeling of water on his heated flesh.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

When Zabuza had felt the spike of power so close to his hideout, he didn't even hesitate to grab his massive blade and prepare for battle. The remaining demon brother was following Kakashi and his brats, while Haku was watching Gato-the man had been acting strange lately and he was getting tired of the civilian's bullshit.

He hadn't expected the spike to lead him to a nearby lake, and he certainly wasn't expecting to see what could only be a water nymph.

0o00o0o0o0o

Naruto turned his head as he saw a figure out of the corner of his eye. The man was tall and muscular, his skin tone slightly grayish-tan. He was a missing nin, as indicated from his slash headband that was titled on the side of his head. Bandages covered the lower part of his face; he wore a black, sleeves shirt and grey arm and leg warmers that went down past his ankles/wrist. His face was harsh, his eyes black and cruel looking, with small eyebrows that gave him an unforgiving look.

What drew most of his attention was the huge ass sword strapped to his back; it was easily the same size of the man in length and almost in width. A whole was near the bottom of the blade, and a half circle was cut out near the handle, most likely for air resistance; it's small handle that would easily fit in the man's hands seemed ridiculously small in compression to the rest of the sword.

The man had to be strong and well trained to wield a sword like that.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. The man had no idea who he was, and he was most likely the leader of the demon brothers, or at the very least a high ranked officer. It was unusual for a missing nin to work with others…they must of all disbanded at the same time or had had a common goal.

Feeling playful and spurred by the power he felt thrumming under his skin, Naruto swam to the edge of the lake and propped his head on his hands keeping his lower half under the surface of the water.

"Who are you, peeking Tom?" Naruto practically purred. The man was strong and Naruto practically squirmed at the idea of having such a strong playmate.

Zabuza cocked his head to the side a little. The creature of gold didn't match the description of any of those seen his Kakashi's party, and even more so he didn't have the feel of a ninja. He had chakra yes, but more of the kind he felt with summoned creatures then with ninja.

"I am Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist, former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and master of silent assassination. Who are you, creature?" Zabuza's voice washed over Naruto, rough with the world's troubles and a harsh life.

"You may call me Nao." Naruto smiled and tucked a section of his hair behind his ear, showing off his slight fangs and pointy ears.

His appearance only reaffirmed Zabuza's belief that what stood before him was not fully human. A Halfling perhaps? The product of a damned union between man and demon? It was possible, but too taboo to be openly spoken about.

"Nao" Zabuza tried the name on his mouth, making the word seem like a title more than a name.

Naruto's eyes flashed in response, lifting himself out of the water with no hesitation. His nude body glistened with beads of water, the surrounding mist hiding much of his lower half.

Zabuza didn't bother hiding the fact that he was looking or that he was interested.

With a playful laugh full of promises and mischief, Naruto spun around and ran into the trees. Zabuza gave a coarse chuckle, while it held the same meaning as Naruto's own laugh, Zabuza's was darker sounding.

And so the Blood Moon chased after the Gold Sun…demon after blessed.

O0o0o0o0o

Naruto ran. He had no intentions of making his capture easy-he liked his games challenging. He dodged rocks, ran up trees, jumped and dove, rolled and danced his way through the thick forest. Adrenaline pumped through his body, his nerves practically sang in excitement at the chase.

His hair was dry, occasionally catching on branches, leaving a trail for Zabuza to follow. He made no effort to cover his tracks; the reward was the chase and capture, not the evasion.

O0o00o0o0o

Zabuza chased after his prey. He stalked quietly, gathering the hairs he found on the branches left behind and stuffed them into his pocket. The strands were delicate and looked like spun gold in the remaining light.

Finally he spotted his prey in the middle of a grotto, crouched and waiting for the final confrontation.

O0o0o0o

Naruto burst out into the open area of the forest, his panted through his mouth, chest rising and falling with each inhalation. He had grown bored of the chase, and now awaited his pursuer with anticipation of the battle to come.

He didn't have to wait long.

The mist thickened around him, unnaturally so. He could taste the electric power of chakra even as thin ropes made from water consolidated around his wrists, ankles and torso. The trendals continued to wrap around his body and before he knew it, Naruto was bound in water.

"What are you?" Zabuza's voice came directly from behind Naruto; he could feel the man's breath tickling his ear. _'He must have removed the bandages. I wonder what else he took off...' _Naruto thought distantly.

"What's the fun in telling?" Naruto asked back, pressing his ass against the older man's crotch.

Zabuza gave a feral snarl, not liking his prize's cheek. Punishingly, he yanked Naruto's hair back and bit his neck right over the pulse point. Naruto's breath left him in a rush, his cock hardening at the dominating treatment.

Encouraged by the reaction, Zabuza wrapped a calloused hand around Naruto's growing erection; he twisted and stroked the growing length, bringing it to full hardness. With a single hand sign, created another water trendal to wrap around the base of Naruto's cock. Naruto moaned in protest, thrusting his hips up instinctively.

Smiling smugly, Zabuza coaxed the end of the trendal to extend and grow, poking at Naruto's opening. Giving a startled cry at the cold, wet _thing_ that poked his opening, Naruto struggled briefly before the tentacle pushed its way inside.

The tentacle caressed his inner walls and it grew bigger and thicker, touching and filling him. Naruto cried, twisted and thrust against the sensations. He realized he must have looked like a wanton whore, face flushed, pre-cum leaking and begging for more as the large tentacle fucked him, but he couldn't care.

He wanted more.

Knowing what he wanted, Naruto focused on tempting his tormentor. He made sure his ass brushed teasingly against Zabuza's erection, that he moaned his name and cried out for _more, harder, faster, __**bigger.**_

It didn't take long for Zabuza to have enough of the teasing. He untied his pants, letting them drop to the ground as he stepped out of them. Grabbing his lover's hands, placed them on Naruto's own ass.

"Bend over and spread them for me." He roughly demanded, voice hoarse and rough with want and lust.

Giving and audible groan at the idea, Naruto did as he was bade, bending over at the waist and spreading his ass checks wide. He felt the tentacle brush his fingers and couldn't resist dipping his fingers into his seeping whole. Water from the tentacle had begun dripping from his entrance and dripped down his legs and balls. He moaned as his fingers stretched him further, the tentacle was surprisingly solid.

He moved his fingers in and out, enjoying the squelching sounds that it produced. He spread his fingers wide, letting Zabuza see into his ass, the pink flesh wet and quivering. He moaned and cried out as he continue to fuck himself. Wanting more, he grabbed the water tentacle and begun moving it in and out of his own ass, crying out with every thrust.

Zabuza had had enough. He couldn't wait anymore and seeing the golden creature finger fuck himself with abandon was his undoing.

He placed the head of his cock at Naruto's entrance and with one violent thrust, seated himself inside Naruto's hole. He moaned. It was so tight and the duel sensation of hot ass and cool tentacle that wiggled inside was wonderful. He didn't bother giving Naruto time to adjust, as he set a brutal pace, watching his own large cock enter and exit the spasming hole. The water tentacle was clear, allowing Zabuza to see his cock head brush and scrape against the man's inner walls and leave a trail of pre-cum in its wake.

Naruto was moaning, crying and keening. Zabuza's cock was huge, he felt so stretched and full. It was marvelous. He thrust back against the pounding he was receiving and eventually had to let go of his ass checks to prop himself against a tree so he didn't fall down. The bark rubbed harshly against his nipples and he pushed harder against Zabuza in delight of the pleasure/pain.

"You feel so good around me. Your ass in clenching me like a fucking vice. You love this don't you? Being stuffed full of cock. Just wait, I'm going to fuck you til you pass out." Zabuza muttered against his ear, thrusting harder with every filthy promise.

"Yes! Yes! fuck me good! Fuck me until I taste you in my throat! Ah hah hah" Naruto panted and begged.

Naruto felt orgasm approaching, his ass clenched and his balls tightened only for it to be denied by the water-cock ring still in place. It threw him into a lust frenzy. Even bound, Naruto managed to turn himself around and push Zabuza to the ground. He re positioned his gaping and loose whole about Zabuza's wet and leaking erection and plunged himself down onto the hot flesh covered steel.

He bounced and rocked furiously, mouth open in a constant moan of want and sex. Zabuza's muscles didn't even strain as he pushed his hips up to meet the fast passed mating, the tentacle still in his ass thrust harder and faster. Water and juices from their sex leaked out of his ass, dripping down his balls and thighs.

Finally Zabuza gave a grunt, filling Naruto with warm, thick cum. It kept coming and coming, eventually the cum began seeping out the sides of Naruto's hole. He moaned in frustration and disappointment. He still hadn't cum.

Zabuza chuckled darkly, and whispered into Naruto's ear, "Who said we were even close to being done?"

Giving a cry as the tentacles that had previously bound him moved and merged into the one in his ass, he cried out in raw pleasure as the thicker tentacle began a punishing pace into his red and used ass. Cum and water dribbled out but eventually stopped as the girth of the tentacle plugged his hole.

The tentacle twisted in his insides, he could swear he feel it in his stomach as it moved. He spread his legs wide in invitment as he lay on his back, enjoying the through fucking he was receiving.

Already half-hard again, Zabuza grabbed Naruto's hair and rubbed the cum covered cock against Naruto's lips.

"Get it ready" he demanded roughly. His eyes rolled back in his head and Naruto's tongue twirled and massaged the shaft, sucking off the fluids covering the now hard cock. Naruto moaned around the length. It was thick and long. Only half in his mouth and he was chocking on it. He deep throated it, loving the feeling of being full on both ends.

"You were made for cock, weren't you?" Zabuza questioned even as he pulled Naruto's hair, forcing his cock even deeper until Naruto's nose hit his pelvis. Thrusting shallowly, he enjoyed the feeling of his cock being massaged by Naruto's throat and tongue while he watched his water tentacle fuck Naruto's ass violently. It was moving so quick, squelching sounds filled the air and Naruto's hips swayed with the movements.

Feeling his release approach again, Zabuza yanked Naruto off his cock and made his way back down to his gravitating hips.

Again he fucked to boy, positioning him on his stomach and using the man's long hair like reins. He pushed and twisted his cock inside of the even wider stretched hole. Feeling release come again, he canceled to jutsu on the tentacle wrapped around Naruto's cock and balls. He once again filled Naruto to the brim with ropes of hot cum.

Startled at the sensation of cold wetness running down his cock and balls, Naruto came. He almost blacked out at the force of his release. He was startled out of the sweet blackness by the sensation of the water tentacle in his ass dissipating. Water and cum leaked out of his stretched hole, making Naruto squirm in protest.

Zabuza chuckled in amusement, shoving his hand into Naruto's twitching opening.

"Ah!" Naruto protested faintly, trying to move his over sensitive anus away from the probing fingers. Zabuza wasn't having any of it as he placed a heavy hand on the small of Naruto's back. He let his fingers continue to play until his whole hand was comfortably inside of Naruto. He wiggled his fingers, enjoying the squishy sensations and the slurping sounds the abused ass made.

Naruto moaned, getting hard once again from the sensation. Almost feeling Zabuza smile, a sudden spike in chakra was his only warning as two water clones rose from the ground, naked and hard. He spread his legs in surrender, awaiting his reward.

The clones immediately moved to where their creator was still stretching his ass. They sat in a circle, lining their cocks up into a dome. Grabbing Naruto, they positioned him up write and sat him on their cocks. His stretched and abused ass seemingly melted, allowing the thick and long shafts their awaited entrance.

Naruto didn't even pause for breath, he rocked and twisted around, pushing one cock out and taking another in with his dancing movements. It seemed to last for hours, the constant fucking. One would cum, depositing their seed inside, only the get hard again from his rocking and squeezing. Naruto lost count of the amount of times he came like that, eventually he ran out of cum to give.

Giving one last dry orgasm, Naruto passed out, still speared on the cocks inside of him and stomach full of hot cum.

O0o0o0o0o0oo0

When he awoke, he felt dirty and could feel the cum leaking from his sore ass. He squeezed his ass, loving the squelching sound as more cum was pushed out. He hummed in contentment. Hearing a faint chuckle, he looked to the size to see Zabuza watching him in amusement.

"I need to return home or others will come looking for me." Naruto said sadly, wanting to continue the activities he could otherwise engage in.

"Another time then. Perhaps we'll include my apprentice and two brothers I work with."

"Yesssss" Naruto hissed out at the thought. Brothers and a student/teacher fantasy all rolled into one? Fuck yes.

Gingerly Naruto got himself up. Looking at the man he had enjoyed so much, he shared one final tidbit.

"I am from Konoha. I have no desire to fight you or turn you in, but know that I have the Hokage's ear. If you desire so, I can give you a permanent place." Naruto looked Zabuza in the eyes, letting him see the sincerity.

At first, Zabuza had frozen and tensed, wishing that his sword wasn't propped against a tree on the other end of the clearing. He relaxed however, as Naruto made no move to attack and the offer was tempting.

"You really think I'd be accepted? Konoha has a reputation of being soft hearted, something I definitely am not. My apprentice also has a bloodline; I will not have him be used just so Konoha can brag." Zabuza practically spat the last part like a curse.

"Do not worry. The council who would push such a thing will soon be no more. The Hokage has entrusted me with a little…house cleaning so to speak. Soon the black roots of Konoha will be cut away so greener ones may grow." Naruto spoke harshly, coldly. His ice cold eyes froze even more.

Zabuza smiled his feral smile. He understood now.

Uzumaki Naruto was building an army.

"Where do I sign?" 


	9. Chapter 9

This shit up here, theses buttons?

Those are annoying. Could we not have them at the bottom, you know, where everything else is? That way they don't cut off the first paragraph. Or hey, if you want them at the top, put them above where the story starts, like on the login toolbar or something…Really bad placement team.

0o0o0o0

In the end, the mission was rather anticlimactic.

Zabuza had told Gato where to shove it. He and his team were to wait one town over from Konoha for Naruto's signal/message/go-aheads. Not like he could just approach the gates and "Nao asked me to come so let me in pretty please?" Yeah, that'd go over well.

In his anger, Gato had attempted to storm the bridge with a bunch of low class mercenaries. Two morons had first tried to kidnap Tazuna's daughter and grandson while Naruto was still in the house, sleeping off his rather exhausting night of….'training'. Naruto was not a morning person on the best of days, and being woken up after a long night of fucking by Inari's screaming and Tsunami's screeching was not his idea of coffee and cakes.

So he slit the two men's throats.

It might have been how cold his eyes had gotten, it might have been the ease and efficiency that Naruto preformed the task, it might have been his lack of regret or care or it might have been the shadowed outline of a figure behind Naruto, taller and beautiful but just a cruel; whatever it was, that moment would forever be burned into the minds of mother and son.

Tsunami quickly told Naruto that the two men had been there to capture her and possibly her son as leverage against Tazuna and his bridge. Not even hesitating, Naruto was out the door and running towards the construction site.

Inari had chosen that moment to remember last night- Kakashi had told him only a small bit of Naruto's story after they returned from training that night and he had snidely asked if their other team member had already been killed. Kakashi had told him about how Naruto was parentless, how his own village hated him how he fought against every bad hand dealt to him and how Naruto never bowed down.

It was that moment, in which Inari saw a boy who was so much like himself, run to save a person he barely knew, that Inari found his courage and strength.

He ran to the village's shopping district, a plan in mind.

In the end, the battle had been rather anticlimactic. The village people arrived complete with torches and pitchforks…to a massacre.

Upon Gato's arrival to the bridge, Kakashi didn't even hesitate to send his genin out for their first human kills.

It had been horrific and mentally damaging, Kakashi was sure. But at least this way, they could justify it by saying 'it was either me or them'.

When Naruto arrived to the bridge, he joined in with his teammates. At one point he was knocked into the setting cement, the swirl of his jacket pressed hard against the semi-wet concrete and left the impression of the Uzumaki swirl behind. The blood of the man who dared push him down baptized the imprint.

They had left Gato for last, as he had hidden himself behind the mob of mercenaries. When it was clear the game was over, he had tried to turn and run, only to run straight into the angry village mob.

They were more than happy to 'take care' of Gato. They tied him to a post on the dock of the new bridge, allowing the high tide to do its work.

The bridge was completed without any more hang-ups, the hired shinobi helping its construction along. The village celebrated long into the night with fish and sake at its completion.

O0o0o0o0o0o0

Team 7 left amongst applauds and cheers. Just as they reached the horizon and the sun flashed, the crowd imagined just for a second, that some else walked in Uzumaki Naruto's place. A tall figure of gold walked in his place, cruel in his stance.

So if you're ever in Wave, make sure to visit a once-upon-a-time-small town just past the connecting bridge. It's a large import town, full of traders and locally made wonders. Local legends surround that place built on dreams and blood. Legends of demons and angels of good and evil and the triumph of the small village that once was and the tears, pride and struggle that conquered. And if one has nothing better to do, make sure you read the plaque in the middle of the bridge.

_Welcome to the Uzumaki bridge, a legacy just beginning._

A red Uzumaki swirl set in stone spins below it.

And if you're really lucky, perhaps a boy-turned-man named Inari will be there to tell you the tale of the man that Konoha hated and who was a hero when he should have been the villain…at least, in his version.

O0o0o0o0o

The walk back to Konoha was quicker. They didn't have a civilian tag-along to slow them down and they were all in high spirits. Naruto practically bounced from tree to tree, chattering excitedly.

They finally reached the gates of Konoha and while Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi were all visibly pleased to be home, some the energy left Naruto.

In Wave he was a hero here he was a burden at best.

Sighing at the return to norm, Naruto followed his team to the mission briefing room.

O0o0o0o0

It was during their mission report (that he had finally given up telling as he was constantly told to shut up by his teammates) that a child ran into the mission's briefing room. He was short, with spiky brown hair and black eyes. He wore a yellow shirt with the symbol of the leaf in red on the front and grey shorts with a blue scarf around his neck. There was some sort of helmet on his head, with a hole at the top to allow his hair to poke out.

As the boy ran into the mission room, the long scarf got caught under his foot, causing the boy to trip. Gasping in alarm, the boy cart-wheeled his arms, trying to maintain his balance, the boy bared his teeth in his efforts, showing his chipped tooth.

The mission room as a whole watched as the kid's face made contact with the hard wood floors. The boy jumped up, looking around wildly. Finally his eyes settled on Naruto, who had an eyebrow raised and a small smile on his face from the funny/cute display.

"You tripped me!" ok, maybe not so cute.

"From all the way over here? Get real!"

Huffing, the boy crossed his arms over his chest and turned his body away. Done with his pouting, he quickly turned around to face to hokage who was contentedly smoking away on his pipe.

"I challenge you, grandpa!" the boy yelled as he dramatically pointed his finger at the calmly sitting hokage.

The boy made a large, overly obvious motion to leap at the hokage only to be stopped as someone grabbed to boy by the scruff of his shirt. Gagging, the boy glared back at the man who dared folly his assassination/challenge of the hokage.

"Honorable grandson, this behavior is unbecoming! You have studies to attend to as the grandson of the hokage. You must maintain a certain image of prestige in your representation of the noble Sarutobi clan…", Naruto quickly tuned the man's ramblings out as he continued to ramble on and on.

He watched the little boy's eyes glazed over in apparent boredom as well. It wasn't long before he snapped out of it; a mischievous twinkle entered his eyes that reminded Naruto so much of himself before that change that it almost hurt. The child bared his teeth in a smile, before swiftly kicking the man between the legs. The man's speech was quickly cut off as his voice shot into a higher octave. Everyone who was watching the spectacle winced in sympathy, some giving a little moan in protest.

Crotch shots were not cool, not even in the shinobi world.

Wiggling out of the loosened grip, the boy made a run for the exit, no one making a motion to stop him. Just as he reached the door, he turned around and giving the peace sign proudly declared,

"My name is Konohamaru, future hokage! And don't you forget it!" dramatically Konohamaru threw down a smoke bomb that released far too much smoke. Coughing could be heard, as well as the pounding of feet as the boy made his escape.

There was silence in the room before Naruto couldn't hold it in anymore.

He laughed madly, clutching his stomach as tears nearly streamed down his face from the force of his laughter.

Settling down, Naruto finally turned his attention to the man who was still attempting to coax his balls to return to their original state.

The man was tall, with brown hair mostly covered by his head-band turned bandana. Dark round glasses covered his eyes and besides his square jaw line, he was pretty plain-a good thing for shinobi. The man humphed, dusting of his arms and legs as he finally stood up.

"Ebisu" the Hokage's voice was soft and commanding.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Ebisu turned towards his elder, saluting.

"Perhaps you should go catch up to your current ward?" while the Hokage's words where requesting, the tone was not.

"H-hai, Hokage-sama..."Ebisu's enthusiasm waivered before he ran after his charge.

Naruto blinked, before turning back to the hokage. Tilting his head to the side, the hokage nodded at the silent question.

"Team 7, good work on your successful mission. In the future, I would prefer you at least call back up with such overwhelming odds at the very least. You are dismissed; collect your pay from the payment office." Nodding in understanding, team 7 filed out of the mission room, making a brief stop at a small window on the second floor of the building, where shinobi collected their pay.

Each waited in line, giving their name to receive an envelope that contained that blood money they had worked so hard for. Naruto didn't even hesitate to count it out at the counter, making short he wasn't short-changed; letting out a nearly silent sigh in relief when it was all there, Naruto made his way out of the building after yelling out his goodbyes to his team.

Naruto turned his head up, sniffing the wind. Catching the smell of his prey, Naruto walked calmly into a darkly lit alley. There, he allowed to illusion of Uzumaki Naruto to drop and in his place Kaneko Nao blinked cold eyes at the waiting world.

0o0o0o0o0o

Konohamaru hated his name. He hated his family. He hated, hated, hated, hated, hated, hated, and hated! No one recognized him for himself! It was always 'honorable grandson' or 'the Hokage's grandson' or something like that. Never for him! So he acted out, trying to stand out and break away from the shadow he couldn't seem to escape from. Konohamaru was Konohamaru, why couldn't anyone see that?

He ran blindly through the thick forest of Konoha's training grounds. Finally breaking through the dense forest, he reached a clearing. A soda machine stood by with a simple wooden bench a short ways across from it; the area was meant for civilians, usually waiting for a shinobi to meet up with them or just to watch others train.

A man sat on the bench currently, his long hair blew in the breeze glittering gold in the sunlight. He wore a cheongsam of fine black silk, the cosmos embroidered on the edges of the dress-like attire. On his waist was a golden cord, two bells where attached at the end, tinkling as the man adjusted his sitting position. The man turned towards Konohamaru, blinking diamond eyes at the boy before turning away.

Konohamaru may have hated being only recognized as the Hokage's grandson, but he hated being dismissed even more.

Huffing, the boy was about to shout at the man, demand his attention, only to cut off as Ebisu made an appearance beside him. The tall shinobi's ire was apparent from the way his mouth pulled down disapprovingly and his hands slightly shook in anger.

Ebisu immediately began berating the boy, his lecture was never changing; Honorable grandson, blah, blah, blah, reputation, blah, blah, blah, responsibilities, blah, blah, blah, grandson of the hokage…

Maybe it was the weather, or the time, maybe it was the man who sat calmly watching it all on the bench or maybe it was how Ebisu's speech had gone from calm lecture to almost shouting; whatever it was, Konohamaru had had enough.

"SHUT UP! MY NAME IS KONOHAMARU! KONOHAMARU! NOT HONORABLE-GRANDSON! I AM A PERSON AND YOU WILL RECOGNIZE ME FOR ME, NOT MY GRANDPA!" Konohamaru panted harshly after the outburst, proud that he had finally stood up for himself.

Apparently, it wasn't enough. Ebisu turned white, then red, the purple. He breathed out harshly before taking a long calming breath. He opened his mouth to deliver a no doubt scathing retort only to stop and look up. Konohamaru followed his reluctant sensei's gaze, hearing the sounds of bells before his eyes connected with cold-blue.

"Konohamaru, hmm?" the golden man asked, head tilted in curiosity.

"Y-yes", Konohamaru stuttered out, wondering why his face was red and his hands felt cold and clammy.

"You wish to stand out amongst a crowd, Konohamaru?" the man's voice was soft but deep and strong. It was powerful and captivating, entangling his audience to listen and he wove his web of words.

"H-hai…I want this most of all." Konohamaru spoke more assuredly, wiggling out from his sensei's looming presence.

The man abruptly turned around and began walking away, his hair swayed behind him a strands dance around him enticingly. The bell only sang once the man stopped, turning around to look over his shoulder at Konohamaru.

"Well? Are you coming? Don't you want to learn something…different?" the man called back enticingly.

Konohamaru didn't even hesitate to follow, his sensei still frozen in shock as his charge ran up to the golden man.

O0o0o0o0o

Konohamaru panted in exhaustion. Nao-sama (as he had taken to call the man, despite his protests) had run him ragged. The man had offered to teach Konohamaru a 'flashy but usually useless' jutsu. While it would be useless in most battles, flashy was something young shinobi were attracted too since it 'looked cool' and therefore suited Konohamaru just fine.

Making the hand signs again, he concentrated his chakra with all his will, hoping this time it would work properly. Inhaling deeply, his brows furrowed in deep concentration as he finished the last sign. Bringing up his palm up, he concentrated his energy to his hands, trying to imagine what he wanted.

Opening his eyes, he was delighted that he had finally managed to get it right! There, hovering over his hand was a sphere of light, looking into the sphere of light, a replica of the cosmos could be seen-stars twinkled in mock suspension, planets rotated, comets soared and suns flared. It was beautiful, flashy and completely useless in battle.

The jutsu which had no name and required no vocalization to use, had been created by a shinobi more interested in science then fighting; bored, the forgotten shinobi had tweaked a jutsu originally used to show the sun/moon (a way to estimate time in places without the luxury of a window) and had expanded to still show the sun and moon…just much farther away. It took a minimal amount of chakra to create, but drained rapidly if maintained too long.

"Very good, Konohamaru" Naruto's voice was gentle and encouraging. Coming up from behind the boy, he ruffled his hair.

"I have something for you, for your accomplishments." Naruto remarked, his hand going to a hidden pocket.

"You mean…a reward?" Konohamaru questioned. He was never rewarded, even when he got a 100% on one of Ebisu's tests. He had learned then, that it didn't matter if he failed or won-it wouldn't get anything either way, and so Konohamaru had stopped trying. But if this guy, Nao-sama, was going to give him a reward…he was the best!

"A friend of mine used to have them, but when he became a shinobi he didn't need them anymore. You can wear them now, and when you receive your shinobi headband, perhaps there will be someone for you to pass them down to, hmm?" Naruto smiled at the suggestion, handing Konohamaru his old pair of goggles.

Smiling in delight, Konohamaru immediately put them on, giving Naruto a toothy smile.

_So…cute!_ Naruto mentally squealed, wanting nothing more than to hug the cute kid until he squeaked…but he withheld himself…barely.

Looking at the sky, Naruto realized it was getting late. The sun had almost set and while the streets where safe, Konoha's night time was for the darker populace and not for little boys.

"What's his name?" Konohamaru questioned, fist unconsciously bunching in Naruto's cheongsam.

Naruto hummed in question, "whose name?"

Konohamaru huffed in aggravation, thinking the question to be a stupid one. "Your friend that had the goggles!"

"Ah, forgive me. How about I tell you about him on the way home, Konohamaru? I'm sure your family is missing you."

Choosing not to correct Naruto about his family missing him (really, he saw the maids more than his own blood!) he moved his previously fisted hand into the offered palm. Naruto's hands where smooth and soft and warm. Smiling at the warm feeling that started from his tummy and went outwards (like warm coco on a cold day) Konohamaru swung their joined hands between them, tentatively listening to "Nao's" softly spoken words about his friend "Naruto", who sounded like a good playmate.

0o0o0o0o0o

Naruto finally dropped Konohamaru off at his clan's compound, promising to see him soon and perhaps introduce him to Naruto. He found it humorous to talk about himself in the third person. Sighing carelessly, he took towards to roof tops and made his way towards the Hokage's tower.

He quickly scaled the side of the tower, knocking on the Hokage's window. Naruto didn't even bother waiting for an invitation as he slipped inside the window. He made his way to the unoccupied chair, slipping into the cushioned seat.

"One day I will ward those windows to keep everyone out. There is a reason I have a door and pay a secretary to 'make appointments.'" Sarutobi mumbled around his pipe as he sorted through the massive paperwork on his desk.

"Oh? I thought you paid her because she has a huge rack." Naruto deadpanned. The hokage choked on his tongue, sputtering indigently but the light blush across his checks gave him away.

Giving a huge, playful sigh, the hokage pushed the papers he had been thumbing through aside.

"What can I do for you Naruto?"

Naruto smiled a foxy smile and the hokage felt a wave of unease rush through him.

"There are a few things I'd like to discuss with you, Hokage-sama."

You know that feeling of foreboding? Yeah, that feeling just got so much worse.

0o0o0o0o

Zabuza and his crew of misfits and taken up temporary residence two cities away from Konoha. It was a civilian city, and none recognized his face and even if they had, the local police wasn't going to fuck with a shinobi of his caliber.

He wasn't surprised when Nao calmly walked up to him only a week in, smiling like the fox that caught the rabbit.

"Pack up your things Zabuza-kun, you and your associates have been given free clearance into Konoha on the Hokage's order." Zabuza's smile was positively feral.

Leading Nao back to their hotel room, Zabuza introduced him to Haku, Meizu and Gozu. Gozu had snapped out of whatever genjutsu was placed on him shortly after they had left Wave. They still didn't know who was responsible and Gozu had no memory of what he had been 'dreaming' about.

After pleasantries had been exchanged, they packed up their belongings, cleaned up the hotel room so any Hunter-nins who passed through couldn't track them, and left the small civilian village.

It took them half a day to reach Konoha's gates.

O0o0o0o

Haku couldn't help but stare at Nao. The man had a certain quality about him that reminded Haku of a client's panther. The man had been rich and snobbish, hiring them to kill off a rising competitor in his trade. With his wealth, he had bought a wild male panther. The panther was chained to the wall, prowling back and forth with sleek muscles and gorgeous fur. A caged animal, waiting for the moment to strike the fool who had dared believed he could be tamed.

It was when they returned for payment that the man had become too cocky. Believing he had the cat under control, he had released the panther from its jeweled collar with orders to kill Zabuza and Haku. The cat didn't even hesitate to pounce on his false-owner, teeth and claws ripping into flesh and bone.

Nao was that panther; beautiful in his deadliness, loyal to only who he chose and bidding his time for the fool to take off his jeweled collar. Haku wondered, as he met Nao's diamond blue eyes, who would be the one consumed by this man's fury.

O0o0o0o0o

While Zabuza and his party of misfits had heard of Konoha and had, on occasion, passed through the area, they were not prepared for what lied inside of the massive stone walls. The village was an easy mix of civilian and shinobi peoples. While most hidden villages tried for the mix, what usually happened was that the civilians would begin to adapt more to the shinobi ways; clothing stores would have more shinobi armor then t-shirts, blacksmiths would create more kunai then nails, laundry mats would offer drop-off/late night services and restaurant kitchens would cater to the paranoid.

Konoha's civilians didn't make that change. Bridal stores didn't boast about plated bodices, weapon stores where clearly separated from hardware stores and civilians ran around without care to the shinobi flying above them. The wardrobe was also something to mention. In hidden villages, an almost unspoken uniform was present among the inhabitants. Here though, the style was all over the place and one couldn't pick out some shinobi from civilians by wardrobe alone.

It was perhaps because of this that their party was receiving such strange looks. Zabuza had no doubt that beside Nao he looked out of place but in a village like this, he looked like a wild and savage man. A few shinobi stopped, watching him with suspicion, most likely recognizing him from the bingo book. The fact that he was peacefully walking besides a fellow leaf-nin meant that he was either being brought in for a reward or for interrogation…if they only knew.

O0o0o0oo0

The hokage wearily looked at Zabuza. The man was large and compactly built no doubt from constantly swinging the huge sword that was strapped to his back. He tired rubbed as his eyes, seeing dark spots as he pressed too hard. Zabuza had also seen it fit to tell Sarutobi any news he had of the world-including recent activities of a certain student of his. Already his mind was scheming on how to fix this mess…The council was going to eat him alive for this, or at least try to. He would hold his cards close to his chest for now.

"Nao has been formally accepted into ANBU but he's not yet been assigned to a team seeing as currently there are no spots to fill. I'd hate to break up a currently functioning team which makes your…change in loyalties rather convenient." The hokage took a long inhale on his pipe before he shuffled some papers around on his desk. Finally he came to the documents he wanted.

"Zabuza, you will be the melee and close combat specialist; Haku, you will immediately begin training as a medic-nin for your position on the team; Meizu and Gozu, you two will be training with Anko, or resident poison expert. Nao, you will be made captain of the team and will be specializing in espionage and assassinations." The hokage paused, tapping the ash out of his pipe. Truthfully, the only reason Nao had been made captain without first training under a more seasoned ANBU was because he was the only one who was officially loyal to Konoha.

"You will officially be given your uniforms and masks tomorrow, at which point you will be given the opportunity to choose your team name and mask theme. You have the rest of the day to yourselves to strengthen your bonds. Dismissed." The hokage scribbled his signature on their approval forms, handing them Nao as they formally bowed and left the room.

He already felt the headache coming on when he saw his old teammates-turned-advisors walk through the door after Nao. It was time to start fixing his mistakes for his successor.

O0o0o0o0o

The next day, the newest additions to ANBU made their way into Ibiki's office. He smiled and what may have been a once kind smile was twisted from his scars. He passed each of them a blank ANBU mask and uniform. He then had each of them bare their upper arm to him, and he patiently inked Konoha's ANBU seal into their skin.

"Team name?" he gruffed, spending no time on pleasantries.

"Skulk." They smirked as one.

"Paint your masks so they made be recorded as your faces." Ibiki continued as they each concentrated chakra to their finger tips and began tracing out their chosen designs on the masks; small amounts of chakra painted while larger amounts allowed one to 'mold' the mask.

"Do not switch or give away your mask. If your mask is lost or stolen, cut off chakra from your ANBU mark to destroy the mask. When you need a new mask, you will find spares in with the regular ANBU supplies. It goes unspoken to not reveal your identity, unless you want to be on the other side of the two-way glass." Ibiki chuckled a little in the end.

They each presented their mask to Ibiki, who became more and more amused by the second. Nao's was of a mythical spirit fox, the markings were of light silver and the face long, elegant and wise looking. Haku's mask was of a more common red fox, red and orange stripes accented the mischievous looking mask. Zabuza's was of a black fox, face lupine and dark with a snarling mouth; while Meizu and Gozu's where almost identical. Both were of a common red fox like Haku, but their masks had 'eye patches' around opposite eyes to tell themselves apart.

"Welcome to ANBU team Skulk. Have you chosen code names for yourselves?" He asked as he continued to fill out the large amount of paper work required to become a licensed killer.

"Yes." Nao spoke for his team. "I will be Vulpe, Haku is Vixen, Zabuza is Reynard, Meizu is Kit and Gozu is Pup."

"Everything is recorded and filed. You will take missions only from the hokage and your loyalty is only to the village. Report tomorrow to the Hokage for your first assignment; you will receive and report your missions to the hokage in the mission room in uniform unless instructed otherwise."

(Skulk is the name for a family of foxes, Vulpe is part of the classification, Reynard is the name for a male, Vixen for female, and kit and pup for baby foxes)

O0o0o0o0o

The hokage had gathered his jounin instructors in a large meeting room, Iruka stood beside him to record the procession. He wasn't as surprised as he should have been when the 'rookie 9' was elected to take the jounin exams. Iruka of course, made a motion to argue but Sarutobi intervened before he could stick his foot in his mouth.

"I have reason to believe that the Kazekage has been assassinated and replaced with an assassin or spy." The Hokage announced. "Because of this, I will only allow 3 teams to enter into the exams. From my observations, Teams 10, Team Gai and Team Komugi will be allowed to enter." Again the hokage held up his hand to forestall any protests, this time from the jounin's themselves.

"Team 10 has showed extraordinary team work and has already become familiar with their family's techniques. Team Gai and Komugi have been genin for year already and therefore I'm allowing them to enter based on both experience and seniority. I will hear no protests from anyone on my decision, or I will bar their team from taking next year's exam as well!" the Hokage stated firmly.

"In the meantime, prepare your team for the worst. Kakashi and Iruka, stay behind. Dismissed!"

While the room cleared out, Iruka smugly finished recording the meeting. He was very pleased with the Hokage's decision not to allow the rookie genin to participate…especially his little Naruto.

Kakashi finally made his way to the hokage, eyeing the chunin standing beside the man's chair in boredom. Iruka bristled at the obvious dismissal in the jounin's eyes while the hokage rolled his eyes at their antics.

"Kakashi, the council keeps pestering me about the Uchiha's lack of sharingan activity. During the chunin exams, your goal will be to have it emerge by the finals." Kakashi nodded his head, not even asking about what would become of his other two students. The hokage gave an internal sign of wariness-after the dust was settled, he was sending Kakashi to a therapist…or perhaps someplace with a lot of hot springs. Absent-mindedly he waved in dismissal.

"Iruka, the new ANBU team I sent to Ibiki today, bring me their file." Iruka bowed to his hokage, transporting before he even finished straightening up.

0o0o0o0o

Naruto slept well that night and stretched languidly in the early morning light. He had received word last night that team assignments and meetings where temporarily suspended and to report to train on his own until further notice.

He rubbed his face, already knowing what happened. The hokage had joined him at Teuchi's ramen stall and had (in a very grandfatherly fashion) asked him to visit more often. Translation; come by my office later.

Naruto shuffled to his shower, turning it on and letting it heat up before he got in. He wondered what the hokage wanted already.

O0o0oo0o0

The hokage gave a deadpan stare at the team assembled before him. He sighed in wary amusement. Really? Foxes?

"The chunin exams have come to Konoha this year and with it, hostilities to Konoha. I have reason to believe that Orochimaru has made an alliance or has infiltrated Suna. Vulpe (Naruto) you are to observe the team Suna has sent; Vixen (Haku) and Reynard (Zabuza) you two are to act as my body guards; Kit and Pup (Meizu and Gozu) you two are to guard over Uchiha Sasuke. If I know my old student as well as I once did, he's here for Itachi's brother."

"Complete your task however you see fit. Dismissed."

And like the shadows, they silently disappeared.

O0o0o0o

Naruto had decided to 'introduce' Konohamaru to 'Naruto' to keep an eye on the child. He had become found of the rambunctious child and as the grandson of the hokage, he would no doubt be targeted. Creating a shadow clone before he left his apartment, Nao and Naruto walked out into the streets. It wasn't long before they ran into Konohamaru.

"Konohamaru-kun, this is Naruto-kun, my other precious friend."

"Eh? Nice to meet you Naruto!" Konohamaru enthused as practically hopped on the spot. Naruto gave a large, mischievous grin in reply.

"I've been assigned to patrol duty during the chunin exams. Since I most likely won't be seeing either of you until they're over, I thought you guys would like to keep each other company." Nao smiled, tilting his head to the side allowing his long hair that was pulled up to shift to the side.

"Come on, I'll buy you lunch before I leave." Nao beckoned, making his way towards Ramen Ichiraku.

Both boys smiled goofily and began racing towards the well known destination. Not watching where he was going, Konohamaru ran into someone wondering on the streets.

The body he collided with grunted, and turned, his face set in an angry scowl. The figure was dressed in all black, his hat shaped into cat ears and his face painted with purple lines. A large _something_ was strapped onto his back, wrapped in bandages so that only what appeared to be a tuff of hair stuck out. Behind him stood a blond girl, her hair pulled back into four ponytails and a large fan strapped to her back. She wore a battle kimono, and sneered at her surroundings. Both of their headbands showed they were from Suna. Naruto couldn't believe his fortune.

Still scowling, the Suna-nin fisted Konohamaru's scarf, dangling him so that his feet didn't even graze the ground.

"Stupid fucking runt! You better apologize for that." The shinobi growled into his face.

Konohamaru made a move to protest but was interrupted.

"Konohamaru" said boy ceased struggling and looked at Nao, "you did run into him."

Konohamaru paused for a moment, eyes widening. This is why he liked Nao so much; he didn't treat him with kid gloves or make special exceptions for him because of his family name. Giving a nod in understanding, Konohamaru bowed as best he could in his current predicament.

"Gomen, shinobi-san. I wasn't watching where I was going in my haste; I didn't mean to run into you."

The shinobi grunted, almost throwing Konohamaru to the side. Nao easily caught the boy before he made contact with the ground, frowning in disapproval.

"My, what rude guests we have." Nao commented, looking directly at the Suna-nin.

"Fuck you, the brat ran into-."Nao cut him off.

"Which he apologized for. You are a guest in Konoha's gates, as such you were told when you walked into our city what was expected of you-throwing around citizens was not one of them. If you continue to show that you are incapable of minding yourselves, and escort will be assigned to you." Nao's voice had become mocking and his body language aggressive.

"Why you!" the Sand-nin snarled, grabbing at the wrappings on his back. Nao pushed Konohamaru and Naruto behind him and took an offense stance.

"Kankuro, I really don't think-" The girl with sand-colored hair and blue eyes spoke up, starting to look nervous.

"Shut-up Temari!" Kankuro snapped, starting to rip the bandages off. "I won't let some pretty-boy upstart push me around!"

Nao didn't even hesitate. He shot forward, a single chime of a delicate bell was the only warning before he seemed to disappear in front of their eyes before reappearing in front on Kankuro. He swiftly brought his knee up, driving into Kankuro's cut. The boy bent over, coughing as his internal organs protested at the rough treatment and being shoved up into his diaphragm.

Not waiting for the boy to catch his breath, he brought his elbow down hard, aiming for the spine. Grunting in pain, Kankuro met ground, the elbow strike lighting up his nerves and making his legs and arms feel like mush.

Seeing Kankuro go down, Temari muttered a curse as she made a move for her fan. She startled as Nao's cold eyes zeroed onto her and she could have sworn she saw a ghost overlay the man who stood before her-a creature with flowing hair, burning eyes, a cruel smile, elegant cat-like ears and sleek tails waving behind him. Her fear froze her before she snapped out of it, but it was too late. Mere seconds determine a shinobi battle, and she had used up hers.

Not even hesitating, Nao threw a hand out, metal wires flowing out of the sleeve of his kimono towards the girl. She snarled in angry when her arms where pinned down and she barely kept her balance as the cutting, metal wires wrapped fully down her body.

Nao didn't relax as the presence that had been hiding in the tree finally made an appearance. This boy was smaller than the other two, more petit. His eyes where a light aqua with dark circles indicating he didn't sleep much. His hair was short and bright red which accented his pale skin and the red 'love' symbol on his brow. A giant gourd sat on his back, strapped on by belts and his clothes where of typical Suna style. Arms crossed over his chest, the boy looked disapproving of the two others. He was no doubt the third member of their team, if his age and forehead protector where anything to go by.

"Kankuro…Temari…"both tensed as their names were called. The boy had a deep, smooth and menacing voice, "you shame our village. I apologize on their behalf."

"G-gaara, w-we didn't-" Kankuro began stuttering, pushing himself off the ground only to be interrupted by Gaara.

"Shut up." Gaara said flatly.

"If your two teammates had only attacked me this wouldn't be an issue however" the tension that had drained from Temari and Kankuro at the beginning of Nao's words returned as he practically purred out the last word. "However, you attacked and threatened the Hokage's grandson and Heir to the Sarutobi Clan, one of the original clans of Konoha."

The sand team tensed as a whole. At the least, they were going to be under close scrutiny for the remainder of their stay, at worst; they would be arrested and tried if not banned from Konoha or even worse…executed. Either option meant their mission had just become close to impossible.

"Follow me, I'm taking you to the Hokage and he can decide punishment."

Keeping silent, the three Suna-nins shuffled behind Nao and followed him to the Hokage's tower, Konohamaru and Naruto following behind.

O0o0o0o

The Hokage had asked where their jounin-sensei was, as he would most likely want to be present. Temari answered for them that they had been sent ahead; their sensei was out on a mission and would be returning to Konoha instead of Suna in a few days.

"Hmm, I see. The Kazekage may be an old friend of mine, but I cannot let this transgression pass, not even for his children. I'm sure you understand; if I did nothing many would see that as a sign of weakness or try to act the same and call foul when they were punished. The fact that your chaperone is not present is also disappointing; perhaps he could have kept you three out of trouble." The three before him made no movements to indicated their fear or shame, shinobi where trained out of such habits early.

"I have decided then. One of you will be integrated, to show that Konoha takes attacks against our citizens very seriously, for the remainder of your stay you will be chaperoned by one of my ANBU. He will be waiting at your lodgings when you return. As for the integration…" Sarutobi took a deep inhale from his pipe. "Temari-san I believe it was? Ibiki is our residential specialist, he's waiting outside for you now."

Temari gulped. She had heard stories of that man, and none of them had happy endings. While she knew nothing permanent would be done to her, she did have a large amount of information about the invasion and she didn't have a large amount of training in the mental department. They had been banking on none of them being caught. She couldn't even commit suicide- that would tip them off immediately that there was something to hide.

She bowed to the Hokage and made her way out the door, she immediately saw a man who could be none other than the man whispered about by broken men. She gulped again; sweat beading her brow as the man gave a menacing smile. With no other choice, she followed the man of scars.

Back in the Hokage's office, the other two siblings were dismissed. The two Narutos and Konohamaru had left as soon as the situation had been explained and a message was on its way to Nao with updated intelligence.

This one incident had made the whole situation so much easier.

O0o0oo

Temari sweated in the interrogation room, from both fear and because the room itself was hot. The chair was wooden and uncomfortable; splinters poked at her and she could see nail marks in the arms of the chair along with dried and old blood.

Ibiki had been with her briefly, asking easy questions at first-her name, her rank, age, and connections and slowly it built up from there, but nothing she couldn't or shouldn't answer had been asked. There had been a knock on the plain white door that matched the white, sterile room and Ibiki had walked from his comfortable position sitting across from her. He stuck his head out the door, and accepted a letter. His face had become more and more angry as he read it. Finally, he looked at her with a face full of hate and disappointment; it was a damning look one gave to a turn coat.

In horrifying slow motion, Temari couldn't help but think that they had found out. That they _knew_. The thought was further reinforced when Ibiki tied her to her uncomfortable chair and had stalked out. That had been seemingly hours ago.

The door creaked opened and Temari's eyes swung to it. A tall and graceful person walked in, ANBU if his outfit was anything to go by, and his mask. His mask made Temari uncomfortable, its mystical face and seemingly kind visage of a fox... Being the sister of a jinchuriki, she had a sixth sense for danger, and this man was dangerous. It practically glowed around him.

"Your brother…Gaara….he's quite a mess, isn't he."

She stiffened as soon as the words left his mouth. _They KNEW._

"It's a wonder Orochimaru hasn't used him in some type of experiment. Then again, he isn't all that stable now, is he?" The fox ANBU paused, tilting his head in a curious manner.

"My apologies, my name is Vulpe. Ibiki had a…harder case to handle and I was called in." He paused, head cocking again.

"Back to your brother then…he has a rather bade history back home, doesn't he? They call him a demon, hate him, fear him…a weapon for a village that believed it could control a demon. How long, I wonder, until his leash snaps?"

She remained silent, looking at the table that separated them.

"Jinchuriki" he said slowly, as if almost tasting the word, "their demons are different, but the story is almost always the same. Always hated, always betrayed, just for being born. Tell me, how many times did you spit on your brother?"

"I love my brother!" Temari snapped.

"Oh? What a strange way of showing it, letting him suffer like that…Alone, tired, with a demon eating his mind."

"What would you have me do? Every time I try to comfort him, he almost kills me! If I force him to sleep, the demon takes over his mind and goes on a slaughter while eating his subconscious. I can't even fight my father, he's the Kazekage! Doing so would be treason! I would do anything for my brothers, anything!"

"Even betray your father?"

"That man is no father." Temari practically spat.

"What if I told you I could help your brother? Quiet the demon and let him sleep?" Temari looked at the man flatly.

"And how would you do that?"

"An Uzumaki" Temari harshly sucked air between her teeth. She knew the stories, knew the legends…the Inari blessed. It was said they could calm demons, persuade them even…If an Uzumaki really existed and would help her brother…

"Then what?" she asked, voice hoarse.

"Orochimaru has killed the Kazekage and is wearing his skin. His mutilated corpse is somewhere in the desert I'm sure. It's very simple really, you send a message to Suna telling them about the situation-you're the Kazekage's daughter, they're going to believe you. Then, when you and your troops turn against Orochimaru and his shinobi, you're a hero and not a deserter." The ANBU folded his hands on the table, locking his fingers together.

"So the sooner you send off that message to Suna, the sooner your father's body is found, the sooner the alliance is called off and the sooner your brother is fixed."

Temari stared hard at the table. What did she have to lose? They knew about the invasion, about Gaara, and about Orochimaru…

"Where do I sign?" Temari asked, smiling weakly.

O0o0o0o0

When Baki arrived to Konoha, he was immediately told to report to the Hokage. His heart sank but as a shinobi he showed no reaction. He made his way to the tower, only to be told that he and his students were going to be under surveillance 24/7 due to Kankuro (Kankuro! Not Gaara, but Kankuro!) having attacked the Hokage's grandson ($#()&!) and two shinobi of the leaf. They were lucky they weren't being executed on the spot.

Reaching their lodgings (a rather nice hotel room) he wasn't surprised to see a sulking Kankuro or the ANBU. What surprised him was the fact that the ANBU with a silver fox mask had Gaara's head in his lap and Gaara appeared to be sleeping.

Baki felt panic settle in-his heart was beating out of his chest, blood rushing in his ears, pupils dilated, the taste of anesthetic flooded his mouth. _Gaara was **asleep**_. Why weren't they dead?

He gradually calmed as no sand rushed around to suffocate and crush him, Gaara did not begin to turn into a blood thirsty monster, he just shifted in his sleep a little, getting more comfortable.

At that moment Temari walked in. She seemed to have the same reaction he did just moments before, but her breath calmed quicker and with her fear left behind, a gleam of understanding and relief shown through.

"So, you're him then. That's how you knew…" she whispered, voice hoarse and tired.

"A secret you will hold close." The ANBU confirmed. "I am Vulpe when wearing this mask." He shifted his attention back to Gaara.

"Such a large burden to hold in such a fragile being," the ANBU whispered as he moved his hands in a petting motion through Gaara's hair.

"I've sent off the letter…I expect I'll get a reply in a matter of days. We'll need to inform those who are already here. Baki, Kankuro, don't look at me like that. Something has happened, something we didn't think was possible. Let me explain…"


	10. Chapter 10

School's started back up for me, I hopefully only have a year, maybe a year and a half of college to go but I've picked up more responsibilities at school and more hours at work. I really don't know how my free time is going to work but I'll try to continue to work on this during slow times at work, but homework comes first! Wish me luck!

O0o0o00o0o0oo

It took Temari an hour to suitably calm her companions and make sure they didn't wake Gaara. Kankuro was still sour over the whole situation, but his love for his brother ran just as deep as Temari's and he was willing to risk his village and honor for a fraction of a chance of 'fixing' him.

The Uzumaki had patiently explained that he would not be fixing the seal or getting rid of the demon inside of their brother, but instead he would be calming the demon. He believed that both the sealing process with the combination of the priest's energy had driven the demon mad.

"The nine demons we know today where once made for a purpose by the Gods. Each was created and charged with the task of maintaining a sort of balance over their region. I will merely remind Shukaku of his responsibility." Vulpe stated as he shifted in place, adjusting Gaara's head. The red-headed didn't even stir, his eyes moved rapidly underneath the lids of his eyes as he caught up on years of missed out REM sleep.

"I must ask that you tell no one I am an Uzumaki. There is a boy here by the name of Uzumaki Naruto and while he knows of our relation the rest of the village save for the Hokage does not. It must remain this way until we decide to announce otherwise. Do you understand?" Vulpe stated seriously, his mask making his request seem to be more of a command.

All those awake nodded their heads in agreement.

This man held their loyalty and would gain their undying trust and gratefulness if he managed to calm Shukaku.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Gaara had woken nearly fourteen hours later and while the black markings around his eyes hadn't faded, he seemed saner. Vulpe had taken that moment to bid farewell to his newest allies and made his way to ANBU headquarters. He was sleepy, but there was too much to do for him to slack off.

He met up with Ibiki and the Hokage in a room with a large privacy seal carved in the center of the floor. While the seal was active they would be, for all intents and purposes, in their own private little sub-space.

"Certain facts have come into light about several major incidents that have affected Konoha; most notably, the Uchiha massacre, the attack of the nine-tails, the disbandment of ROOT and the genocide of several other small clans. I have come into possession of several pieces of evidence that, by themselves are circumstantial but together are very damning. I have made mistakes in my old age, mistakes that I regret and need to rectify for my successor and…for me to rest easy…when my time comes. Nao, you will be a key player in my plans. Ibiki, I have called you here because you are just as vital but will not be in as much limelight as Nao." The Hokage took a deep breath.

"The actions I wish you to perform will go unnoticed during the chaos of the chunin exams. If everything goes as planned, hopefully Suna will be with us, if not, your orders will not change. During the third match of the chunin finals, Kabuto will activate a mass-effect sleeping jutsu. The civilian evacuation will have already been in effect and only those in the stands will be at risk…over half of our forces will be concentrated there and I need you both the escape unseen in that chaos." The Hokage turned to face Naruto.

"Nao, you are to use the attack as a cover to assassinate every civilian and shinobi council member that has betrayed Konoha-make sure to make it appear as the death happened due to the invasion, I don't care how but in no way is this to come back to haunt us. You are to also use this time to infiltrate ROOT headquarters. You are to capture several of ROOT ANBU and hand them over to Ibiki immediately. While there, you are to also plant as many explosives as possible and gather any information or documents you can find. You main priority is to find any notes on the silencing seal-if we can figure out the counter to that seal, Ibiki's task will be that much easier." The Hokage nodded to Naruto as he bowed. He did not see the maniacal grin on Naruto's face, but he could practically feel the eagerness to clean out the rot that infected Konoha roll of Naruto in waves. "Do not bring down ROOT as of now. There are too many that have been forced into service or are ignorant of its darker heart."

"Ibiki, you are to do what you do best; when Naruto brings you your…guests, I want you to start immediately. I'm giving you full clearance-do whatever needs to be done; finger screws, teeth drilling, arson, I don't care. I need the names, places, events and supporters that are connected to ROOT. Once you have a list, take care of it-quietly. Once we have enough evidence, we'll release it to the public." Ibiki copied Naruto's action, bowing deep. Like Naruto, you could feel his eagerness fill the air.

"Dismissed."

O00o0o0o00oo

Temari passed the scroll onto the Hokage, her brothers and sensei stood behind her in silent support.

"So…his body was found" the Hokage muttered, his voice heavy with relief and sadness.

Temari nodded, her eyes slightly red. While she had hated her father and was relieved that his death would bring so much good…he was still her father and her Kage. She mourned not for losing the man he was, but for losing the man he could have…should have been.

"Ibiki is acting as ambassador here and the council has taken up the Kazekage's duties in Suna until a successor is found. Suna is crying out for revenge for its Kazekage's death and none of us like being taken for fools. We are at your command, Hokage-sama." Temari bowed formally, those behind her followed suit.

"We have already informed those stationed here of the change in plans and circumstances. Already most of our shinobi have infected Orochimaru's followers with a slow acting poison. It will not kill them, but it will weaken and slow them down significantly."

"We thank Suna for its Temari-san. Vulpe has already informed me that he has agreed to help you…or should I say Gaara-san?"

"Hai" Temari whispered, her body nearly shook with anticipation.

The Hokage gave her a slight grin before he motioned towards the shadows. Silent and graceful, Vulpe stepped from the shadows.

"Please follow me, I will begin immediately." Naruto motioned them towards the door. They shuffled out and eventually ended up on the higher levels of the Hokage's tower where Naruto opened an old and weathered door.

The inside of the room was circular with a glass dome ceiling that allowed the sky to peak in. The floor itself was black tile and clean, a futon lied in the direct middle of the floor.

"Please go lie down on the futon Gaara and get comfortable. The rest of you are welcomed to watch, but please do not interfere or make much noise. I'm not sure how it will look on the outside but please, do NOT interfere." Naruto removed his mask, allowing those present to see his face.

Gaara did not hesitate to lie down. He could sense a kind of kinship with the man before him and even more convincing was the silence he heard whenever he was within touching distance. Shukaku would quiet when this man was around and he had no doubt that his sand would not react to his presence.

"Now Gaara I need you to look into my eyes and whatever you do, don't struggle." Naruto's ice eyes flashed gold and before he knew it, Gaara was standing at the entrance of a shrine.

"I guess it's no surprise that your mindscape was influenced by the priest." Gaara startled, not expecting to see Naruto standing beside him, also looking at the entrance of the shrine.

"Shall we go face your demon, Gaara?" Naruto smiled, his face looking decidedly foxier.

"Ah." Gaara agreed as he started his walk into the shrine.

The building was decrepit, falling apart with cracks and water stains seemingly everywhere. The floor was uneven and it seemed like they walked forever making many twists and turns before they reached a doorway. The door was huge and rusted, barely standing on its hinges. Chains where wrapped around the door were and large locks kept the door tightly closed. The whole contraption was rusted and falling apart with age and neglect. Behind the door they could the sounds of movement and the clinking of even more chains could be faintly heard.

Neither of them doubted this was the door that led to Shukaku.

Gaara didn't even hesitate. As soon as his hand touched the door, the chains fell into dust and the door fell inwards with a pained grown, slamming into the ground loudly and blowing up dust and sand. Both Naruto and Gaara stepped into the room.

The room's interior matched with that state of the door. The whole room was made from cold stone and faint dripping could be heard as water dripped from the ceiling. Old and rusted chains hung from the ceiling, shackles were half-way pulled out of the walls and the floor was grimy and cracked. There were no windows or light source, but one could see the room none the less.

In the corner stood a balding priest; his ceremonial robes were incrusted with filth and blood and it had numerous tears and holes in the fabric. The priest had turned around at their entrance, allowing them to see his ghastly face. He may have once been and attractive man, but he was no more. His flesh hung from his bones in layers, pulling his face down and exposing his eyeballs to the air, turning them red in agitation. He had no lips, showing his gapping maw of razor-sharp teeth that where blackened from decay. In his hand he held a leash his chipped and dirty claw-like fingernails curled possessively around the handle.

Naruto and Gaara's eyes followed the leash's path to the floor. An enraged tanuki withered on the floor, its claws digging into the flesh around its next as it tried to pry the chocking collar off its neck. It snarled in anger as the priest turned his eyes from the interlopers to his captive, smiling in cruel delight.

"So, the Shukaku never was the problem then." Naruto spoke into the silence. "You have chained a child of the Gods down with the holy powers gifted to you. How shameful, to siphon the powers of a demon in order to grow stronger. It corrupted you even more then you already were, mortal."

The priest hissed, his human mind long gone, before he bang to wildly laugh. Spit ran down his chin as he continued to laugh, no bothering to swallow and his lack of lips incapable of keeping his spittle in check.

"Yesssss. The power of Shukaku was too wondrous for me to pass by! When the boy sleeps at night, I chip away at his identity and put mine in place. Soon, soon the boy's body will be mine! Already I can use his eyes! HHAHAAA! The power! The others had no idea! No idea! HHAHAAA! I just had to wait and someone else did all the work for me! I couldn't use the body immediately, oh no, but soon! Soon my patience will pay off! It has been so long since I have been able to…" His eyes grew distance before they snapped back into focus, the insanity returning with them.

"My vows! What a waste! What a fool I was! By becoming a priest I did get the respect I wanted, and the power of the Gods! But for such a high price!" the lipless man attempted to smile, but only succeeded in twitching the corners of the skin that surrounded his mouth. "And the people! SHEEP! They could do nothing on their own the fools! Constantly coming to us, constantly bothering, bothering, bothering us! No peace, no chance to do what we wanted! They questioned and questioned until we had to silence them..hhe...hahahahahahahaAHAHAHAHAHAA! THE STREETS RAN RED WITH BLOOD! But I made it, yes, I made it. Yes, it ran red with blood. Red, red like wine. Ooh, sweet, sweet wine! HAHAHHAA! So many RULES!" the man spat out. "Sins they called them! HA! They were pleasures!"

"What have you done?" Naruto questioned softly, in horror. The once-man only laughed wildly.

"When I get out of here, I will drink once more! HahahahaHHAHAHAHAHA! DRINK AND DRINK!" the man yelled wildly, scrapping his nails down his face, pulling harshly at the falling skin.

"You have forsaken your vows and your duty for the momentary buzz of alcohol? You trapped Shukaku, the demon chosen to balance the deserts of your home, for power? You disgusting excuse for a human being." Naruto's voice was deadly and flat, almost seemingly bored with the man's obvious insanity.

"Fool! I am no longer a human! HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH!" the man laughed wildly again, only coming back to his senses with the demon he had chained himself to began to attempt to chew through the leash. He stopped abruptly and kicked the animal viciously in the side, causing both Shukaku and Gaara to yelp in pain.

The priest's eyes quickly shifted to Gaara, as if seeing him the first time.

"How convenient for you to bring the boy to me! I will just finish the job now! Don't worry boy, I'll take good care of your body." The priest turned to fully face Gaara, "And your sweet sister."

Now Gaara would be the first to admit he hadn't been the nicest to his siblings. He also would admit he never had even said a kind word to his sister and had in fact, threatened her on several occasions. But he had taken pains to never harm her and had always protected her, usually using the excuse of the mission. But somewhere inside of him, he cared for his sister. She had taken great lengths to be kind and soft with him, and he remembered several times she had made dinner for him or had looked with him with a soft look.

Because of this, he had a rather large soft spot for his sister.

His darling, beautiful and _pure_ sister.

His sister who this asshole just threatened to rape.

.

..

…

….

The man didn't even have a chance to scream before Gaara's sand was on him, slamming him into the wall and leaving behind a bloody smear.

"Shut up." Gaara deadpanned.

The leash fell from the priest's dead hand, shimmering into dust before it even reached the ground. He had forgotten one rather large issue when he had taunted Gaara; they were in the boy's mindscape, where Gaara was God.

Shukaku grew before their eyes; the mangy raccoon-dog grew into a larger, more majestic version of himself. Ragged fur smoothed out and jagged lines swirled and twisted in a pattern of dots and lines. His tail fluffed out and waved contentedly behind him as his cute, tiny ears swiveled around in a curious matter. His bright eyes blinked from his black 'bandit's mask' markings on his face and his nose twitched before he abruptly sneezed from the dust.

_**So **_a deep rumbling voice echoed around them. There was no doubt that this was the voice of Shukaku even if his mouth didn't move. _**This is the boy whom was chosen as my carrier. Forgive me child, for the troubles my corruptive power has caused. 'Twas not my intentions. **_

Gaara stared at the demon, face blank and silent.

_**Do not look so morose child. Not all is rotten with my burden. I am known as Shukaku the One Tailed, created to balance the lands of sand and sun. **_Shukaku licked a delicate paw as the temple around them begun to change from its decrepit state-the cracks slowly began to heal and what was once rubble began to rebuild.

_**Even now your mind begins to heal. How fortunate my own, that the damage is easily repairable. **_

"We came originally to remind you of your responsibilities Shukaku. There are things you need to discuss with you container, yes?" Naruto spoke out, watching as the ceiling which had been dripping from a multitude of holes, healed and sealed itself back up.

_**Yessss, that there is. **_Shukaku turned to look completely at Gaara, who seemed almost disturbed to see an animal talk. _**Perhaps this would be easier if I was in another form, yes?**_

Shukaku began to change before their eyes once again. Paws made way for hands, fur changed to tan flesh, demonic markings became tattoos and in a few seconds a man of apparent desert descent stood before them. His face was long and narrow with dark eye markings framing his aqua eyes. His was lithe, with long, sinewy muscles, large hands with long nails and a fanged smile. His ears were pointed and obvious sign of his demonic descent, while his sandy hair fell in coarse and jagged layers to his strong jaw. A light cloth was wrapped around his body and was thrown over his shoulder.

"Perhaps this is less intimidating, my own? This is the form I often took before the tradition of demon sealing came to be." His voice was dark and full of power but his false human form made him more approachable.

Gaara still said nothing, merely looking at the demon that he thought was to blame for his hellish childhood…but, he wasn't was he? A priest was instead…in a few seconds, Gaara's world had been altered even further.

"Perhaps a more formal introduction is needed, we've never been introduced have we? As I said, I am Shukaku the One Tailed. I was charged with the task of keeping balance within the lands of desert and sand by the Gods. As the first of seven, I am the Scribe among my brothers and sisters."

"Scribe?" Gaara echoed faintly.

"Yes, each of us seven were given not only a region, but a job amongst us. They were kept secret among us so that we would not try to influence each other or become jealous of the other's duty. To perform our duty, we were all gifted with a special ability none could copy or learn to perform our task. My duty was to record all that occurred of great significance, in order to do this I was given the gift of an all seeing third eye." Shukaku held his palm open, sand gathered into a floating ball above his hand, taking on the form of an eye, complete with blinking lid and eyelashes.

"How did you become so twisted from your original purpose, Shukaku?" Naruto asked.

"For the first few centuries of my existence, the peoples of the sand knew of me and would build small shrines to leave gifts in hopes of favor, they would pray to me and hold festivals for good weather and crops and all was well. But as the towns grew and trade increased, tolerance lowered. While I was not worshipped, my shrines and well wishers were seen as barbaric and heathens for their ways. Less and less came to my temples and asked for my aid from fear and shame. Soon more 'acceptable' religions began to move in to replace what once was. I did not mind, and I continued my tasks. This made the priests angry and claimed I was evil and cruel, why else would the desert be so harsh when I had to power to make it better?

More and more began to agree with their way of thinking and they demanded I abuse my power. I tried to explain I could not just change a land just because they wished it so, but they did not listen. Eventually they decided that if I would not give them the solution they so desired, then I would be forced to help them. A high priest came up with the idea of imprisoning me into a mortal cage so that the human that held me would have access to my powers."

Naruto and Gaara listened with rapt attention on how the process of creating a jinchuriki was born.

"They first captured me and burned my body into sand, they placed my remains in a special jar that would not allow me to reform and so I was trapped. The priests began their experiments of sealing, using lesser spirits first. They failed many times. The seal itself was an issue-to create one of proper strength but would still allow access but wouldn't leave me in control, then finding someone to apply it let alone finding a person willing to house a demon. It took them even longer to realize that age was a factor as well. The older the quicker they died but none wanted to sacrifice a child. It didn't take long for the priests to convince the people it was necessary.

"Eventually the succeeded but the priests were greedy and wanted the power for themselves, but they could not control the demon directly. Therefore, they decided that they could be sealed with the demon as well and take over the child's body. It worked and many priests underwent the process for power. But the people rebelled, their children were not only to be sacrificed but their identity wiped? It was not something they would stand for, not a sacrificed they were willing to make. A war broke out, many died and in a fit of desperation, the head priest sealed himself with my ashes into an urn, knowing it would not be long before the temptation was too great.

"He was right of course. A mere two centuries later Gaara's father had sacrificed his own unborn in an attempt to create the perfect weapon. It backfired as you know; the priest's insanity and my weakened state were disastrous combination for Gaara."

"And here we are" Naruto finished for him.

"And here we are." Shukaku confirmed.

"There is no need to bargain or remind me of my duties, young one. I will begin teaching Gaara immediately; he is my current proxy after all."

"I…I don't want this" Gaara said, his voice was broken but his face was still cold and still even as his fist clenched.

"I am sorry my own, but I know not how to remove myself from you without death preceding first." Shukaku apologized. "Why I may materialize into the outside world, our bond would still remain."

"And when I die?" Gaara demanded.

"Then I will either go with you or flee, I am unsure of how the process works. I do not know if you can even die." Shukaku stated plainly.

Gaara's breathing began to speed up in panic. Never die? To watch those few he cared for die while he remained? That…

"That's not an option." Gaara stated calmly.

Shukaku frowned in sadness for the young one, but kept quiet. Perhaps it was best to let him have this one hope.

"I apologize Shukaku, but we must return. My work here is done and you seem to have your hands full repairing the damages." Naruto waved a lazy hand around, indicating the still healing mindscape.

"Hmm, yes I suppose I do. We will talk later Gaara." Shukaku waved as everything faded out of focus.

O0o0o0o0o0o

Gaara blinked his eyes, startled by the bright light that he awoke to. After seemingly spending hours in a dark and dank dungeon, his eyes protested at the brightness. It had seemed like they were there for hours, but the sun hadn't even changed position from when he had first laid down.

He propped himself up, finding his body was surprisingly heavy and he felt lethargic. He looked to his side, surprised to see Vulpe up and moving already, even if he seemed to be stumbling a bit.

"Gaara?" Temari asked hesitantly.

"It's done." Gaara confirmed tone still monotone but a hint of awe was present. Perhaps one day he would tell her the full tale but for now, for now…he just couldn't bring himself to.

He turned his body to fully look at his sister. He looked at her, _really_ looked at her. How her eyes held worry and relief, how her hands shook and how she chewed at her lip seeming to hold herself back from going to him. She seemed to actually care for him, but he still couldn't bring himself to trust, to hope. Not yet.

"What happened?" Kankuro asked, his voice noticeably hoarse.

"That is not my tale to tell I'm afraid." Vulpe stated calmly as he replaced his mask back on his face.

"I will see you on in the upcoming battle, until then." Vulpe bowed to those present in the room before he seemed to faded from view.


	11. Chapter 11

So many people have asked details about this story. I wanted you all to know that I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS! =D Seriously, no idea. I've found that if I plan out a story, I lose interest. Therefore, no planning with this one!

O0o0o0o0o0o

Naruto huffed quietly behind his ANBU mask; the finals of the chunin exams where about to begin and only 3 participants were from Konoha. Team Komugi had dropped out during Ibiki's mind fuck, leaving behind Team Gai and Team 10. Both teams made it through the Forest of Death, but Kiba, Hinata and the girl from Team Gai had all been taken out during the pre-luminaries, leaving Shino, Neji and Lee as the only fighters left for Konoha.

Naruto shifted from foot to foot in boredom. As soon as the coliseum had filled up and the entry gates for both the village and the designated area for the third exam had closed, a white dove had been released into the air-the sign for retreat. As calmly and as normally as possible, all those incapable of fighting had evacuated. Civilians had closed shop (the exam being a very convenient excuse), children followed their families and the old and sick where transported to shelter deep in the tunnels that ran through the Hokage monument. Once they arrived and their questions answered, they quickly settled down for the whole thing to blow over. For once, their evacuation wasn't a drill.

After the evacuation was complete, ANBU and Jounin (Chunin were either stationed with the evacuees or in the coliseum) immediately began quietly assassinating any stationed enemies. Several groups where found outside the city's gates preparing for a mass summoning and were quickly taken out, the summoning symbols on the ground copied for further study and then destroyed to prevent activation later.

The Hyuuga clan had been dispatched to scout for bombs, traps and anything else out of the ordinary. Their unique bloodline allowed them to search the walls, ground, sewers and other structures with efficacy and ease. Meanwhile, the Inuzaki and Abrume clans were both sent out into more forested areas (where the wildlife and many moving objects could distract the Hyuuga's eyes) to scout and trap the area to hopefully catch and injure enemy ninjas.

In the stadium, for every one civilian there were two shinobi in the stands, usually of Chunin rank or higher. The higher class guests had been debriefed and evacuated, a double sitting in their place. While many nobles had been angry, it was just more bad press for Sound/Oorchimaru and as a result, less high profile missions would be funding Oorchimaru's plans.

The Hokage's two body guards were Zabuza and Naruto himself, while the Kazekage's body guards had been replaced with two Konoha ANBU, Mouse and Falcon; their presence were seemingly ignored by the chatting Hokages.

Everything was in place.

O0o00oo0o0o0o

Naruto sprung into action as soon as the sleeping genjutsu was cast, the beautiful feathers that fell were macabre in their sleeping-death promises. His mind became focused on one thing: finish his mission. He didn't spare a glance for the Hokage or the remaining ANBU who stood behind their leader; they were shinobi, they were bred, trained, raised and thrived off of such situations.

He ran into the streets, dodging ongoing battles and badly aimed jutsus as he went. He didn't stop to assist his fellow comrades-there was no need. Everyone worked together beautifully and since they had more than enough warning, no one was caught unaware. Eventually he made it to his destination.

The majority of his targets would be at the Hokage's tower-Sarutobi's former teammates-turned-advisors had decided to stay in the most heavily guarded structure in the city and among them were the other council members that would die that night. They were first on his list of hits as they were the closest and most likely to move when things became heated. He felt no guilt about taking the lives of those who had once had Konoha's best interest in mind. They may have once been kind people and loyal to the village, but greed and politics had turned them into something twisted.

He easily scaled up the tower, not even hesitating as he created two dozen shadow clones and henged to look like a random enemy he had passed by during his mad dash to the tower. He crashed through the window on the top floor, slamming into the Hokage's desk, knocking the paperwork and instruments on the desk onto the floor in a scattered mess. Immediately he headed for the war room, knowing they would be there no doubt surrounded by ROOT members.

Knowing stealth would give him an advantage, he sent one clone to make a ruckus in the records room behind the war room, hoping that the stationed ROOT team would send a few members of their squad to investigate. He then sent the other clone to enter the war room directly through the front door while he slid through the upper air vents. He henged into a mouse, a creature small and quiet by nature, and he quickly squeezed between the gratings of the vent.

He quickly ran to the war room's vent, mentally signaling to his other clones to begin their own part in the mission. He surveyed the situation, counting 5 ROOT ANBU in the open, and 4 hiding out in the shadows. Among them were the fifteen council members he was sent to kill, and a few who he was to leave untouched.

The first clone smashed into the records room, randomly pulling out files, throwing out scrolls and pushing over whole book shelves. The ROOT didn't move at first; however one of the councilors began to get antsy. Naruto recognized him as one of his targets (and from his youth) Homura, who curtly ordered three shinobi to see to the disturbance.

Koharu was another easily recognized face in the crowd. She sat twisting and pulling at her expensive kimono in impatience, facing a wall and staring vacantly. She startled badly when his other clone knocked down the door to the war room. The clone's job was to distract and so no finesse was required. His other self had merely kicked the door in, not bothering to quiet his entry or hide his intentions. Not hesitating, the clone literally leaped into action, aiming to kill the targets closest to him with the kunai the gleamed dully in the light. The ROOT ANBU also didn't hesitate; the remaining two went for the clone, chasing him as he ran about the room in a flurry of kunai and death. Naruto felt his blood begin to pump in excitement. This wasn't a test, this wasn't easy and this wasn't even an enemy shinobi.

Focusing, Naruto wiggled his way through the bars of the vent and fell through the gap. He ended the henge before he reached the floor, going into a low crouch. He didn't pause-as soon as his feet touched the floor he launched himself towards the center of the room, pushing off the ground with as much force as he could. He quickly reached into his supply pouch and pulled out one explosive and smoke tag each. Activating both, he flung them to where his targets had huddled in the commotion before he launched himself to the ceiling, avoiding the explosion's back lash.

The resounding boom made his ears ring and his teeth rattle. Three of his targets died from the exposition, five others were too injured to move and he easily propelled himself from the ceiling and slit their throats with quick and precise strokes. He vaguely recognized one blubbering man from his youth. He had been a banker, particularly vicious in his treatment on Naruto with a fondness towards baseball bats. Naruto felt no remorse at taking his life, even as he begged for mercy.

Only seven members left to kill.

He jumped backwards as one of the ROOT members sprung from the shadows and cut through the smoke, the katana missing his face only by centimeters. One of his clone's pursuers finally had noticed his presence, most likely due to the bomb's detonation and the large amount of smoke that now filled the once clear room.

He twisted, pushing himself off a nearby wall and flung a chair in the way of his attacker. The ROOT member jumped over the chair, bringing his katana over head to cleave Naruto in half mid-jump. Adrenaline pumping, Naruto used the metal backing of his gloves to push the attack aside, but is still cut deeply into his shoulder. Hissing in pain and anger, he ducked underneath his attacker's arm and plunged a kunai into his and lungs. His mark hit true and the man's breath took on a sick gurgling sound. Not waiting around to watch the ROOT member die, he jumped over the soon-to-be-corpse, pushing him down and using his back as a jumping board and grabbed the katana out of the man's loose grip.

A small explosion sounded a room over and almost immediately after a wave of memories flooded his mind. The clone in records room had used an explosive suicide jutsu, taking his attackers out with him. The resounding explosion caused debris to fall, trapping two more of his unfortunate attackers under the rubble. Walking almost casually over to them, he raised the bloody katana to their necks and cut swift and deep. The wall behind them became painted with gore as their heads de-attached from their bodies and with hollows thuds, rolled to the ground.

Five more to go.

He quickly surveyed to room, noticing the bloody tracks on the floor. No doubt from those smart enough to flee. He followed the trail, creating three more clones to assist. Scouring the levels, Naruto managed to find and kill three more, leaving only Koharu and Homaru left to kill. No doubt their shinobi background and knowledge of the tower's layout helped them greatly.

Naruto winced as felt the other of his first two clones die. It seemed reinforcements had arrived and several ROOT ANBU were quickly closing in on him.

He finally found his remaining two targets in an old storage room, using the boxes and filing cabinets that filled that room as coverage. Any other shinobi wouldn't have noticed them; they made little to no sounds, left no tracks and had repressed their chakra. Unfortunately, they still emitted a smell. Stale sweat and fear hung around them like cloaks and allowed Naruto to pinpoint their locations in the room.

Silently, he henged back into the mouse form and squeezed himself through the door's crack. Keeping as silent as possible, he allowed his true form to take hold. He quietly stalked through the various boxes and cabinets, attaching explosive tags as he went. Smiling a demon's smile, he transported outside the room again just as he activated the explosive tags.

The screams and of pain were music to his ears.

Still grinning, he hummed as he strolled back into the room to check the damage.

Homaru had died instantly; shrapnel from the filing cabinet he had hid behind had lodged itself through his lower jaw, killing him instantly.

Koharu had not been so fortunate. The wooden storage boxes had splintered and like an overly large stake, had pinned her to the wooden floor, entering through her bowels. She was screaming in pain, clawing at the stake pathetically, causing her fingernails to crack and bleed and splinters to lodge themselves in her elderly flesh.

"Mah…" he mocked sighed, taking pleasure in Koharu's terrified face as she looked at him, whimpering.

"You seem stuck, hmm?" He mocked her, placing his foot against the stake and pushing it, causing it shift and pull and her injury. Her screaming reached a new pitch at the renewed pain.

"I think…I'll just leave you here to die. Slowly, agonizingly, with only yourself for comfort…this way…you can take this time to think on all your life's accomplishments…" He smiled cruelly, his beautiful face twisting in a sinister way.

Koharu watched him walk away as the life slowly drained from her body. She saw, even through her pain, a silhouette of a man, with long hair and shining eyes, godlike in a way. She knew that she had been judged unworthy and when death came to take her, it would not be kind.

O0o0o0o0o

He didn't bother to search for ROOT members; instead he merely waited by the door. Soon enough two showed up and in their haste, tripped his trap wire that released two canisters of sleeping gas.

Huffing in disappointment, he sealed their sleeping bodies into his sealing scroll, along with one dead ROOT body for later study. Even the dead could be useful, after all.

He bandaged his should quickly as he made his way out of building, trying to slow the bleeding.

He'd drop both off the Ibiki later, but for now…

O0o0o0o0o0o

With his first 15 targets dead, Naruto quickly made his way to the only known entrance to ROOT headquarters. He had taken a close look at one of the deceased ROOT members before he had left the tower, and took on his appearance.

The entrance was located in a back alley of Konoha's shopping district and a series of bricks had to be pressed in order for entrance to be allowed. Naruto had been watching the spot for weeks, and it seemed that the sequence corresponded to the time of day. Look at the sky, he observed the sun's current coordinates in the sky and pressed the corresponding bricks on the wall. A hole barley big enough for him to squeeze through opened up below the bricks.

He shimmed down, clutching a rusted and weak ladder as he descended into the depths of Konoha. He didn't bother looking around and the place was seemingly empty-most likely everyone was too busy with the invasion to protect a place the enemy would never know of.

Quickly he brought out a sealing scroll and released a paint brush and invisible ink. He painstakingly began writing the seal the hokage had been drilling into his brain for months on the walls, foundation pillars and anywhere else he could reach. Completing his task, he resealed the brush and empty paint can.

Having walked the chambers already to paint the seals, he had a good idea of where any records would be kept. There were few building in the sewer style chambers and fewer still looked to be in good condition. The one that looked to be in the best repair was most likely where his final objective lay.

Upon entering the building, he found it to be an office or lodging. From the cane and roll of bandages that lay casually about, he guessed it was where Danzo spent the majority of his time. Wishing he still had ink left over to cover the place in the special seal, he began to painfully look through everything for any notes. He found a journal that he quickly used a Jutsu to duplicate along with a few notes, but not the large amount of documents he was hoping for.

He tested the walls and floor boards for secret compartments, along with the furniture but he found nothing. Sighing, he began searching the remaining buildings (which turned out to be sleeping quarters and training dojos) for anything.

It was in the second the last building he found anything of worth. It appeared to be another dojo but this one had a medical bay attached to it. There where copious notes and lists from whoever ran the facility; from class roasters, to health records to detailed notes on the silencing seal and its effects.

Jack pot.

Copying everything, he sealed it into his scroll before silently making his way out.

O0o0o0o0

The battle was still going on, but not as furiously as before. The enemy troops had been badly crippled and where being driven back inch by inch. He made his way back to the arena, seeing the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho trio (both old and new generation) take down a squad of opposing shinobi.

He passed by many allies, all of whom fought fiercely for their home. He stopped to occasionally assist those who were struggling, but many times he was not needed to join the fray.

He quickly made to ANBU headquarters, which was a chaotic mess; ANBU running about, getting weapons, supplies or dropping off the injured.

He bypassed it all, making his way to Ibiki's office hoping to find the man there.

No such luck.

Searching and asking around, he eventually found him already in an interrogation room, pumping an enemy shinobi for information. His…guest…was worse for wear already. Feeling his shoulder throb, Naruto knocked at the door and stepped back for the door to open. Seconds later, Ibiki's scowling face peaked around the door. Seeing Naruto, he lifted a scared eyebrow in question.

Wordlessly, Naruto handed over the scroll before he allowed himself to pass out, blood loss and exhaustion finally taking over. He felt himself being caught by huge arms before he reached the ground, and gave into the black.

O0o0o0oo

see any mistakes? lemme know!


	12. Chapter 12

This is the point of the story where it reeeeeeally diverts from the canon. I also had some very good plot holes pointed out. Someone also pointed out that Naruto is very OOC, so I tried to give that a little more background as well; I find it very hard to believe (in the series) that a child as young as Naruto could come out from his past/abuse so undamaged.

**Warning**: Lemon and water sports at the end =]

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Ibiki slung Nao's arm over his neck and shoulders and then bent down to scoop the younger man up by the knees. He carried Nao in this non-traditional 'bride lift' to the ANBU medical bay.

Haku was there. Originally he was to be the Hokage's other body guard but a last-minute change of plan had him in the medical bay instead when it was discovered how talented he was in the healing arts. Seeing Nao being carried by Ibiki caused cold fear to grip at his heart. While he was not close to Nao on a personal level, he still had a special fondnessfor the man for giving him a home and a place on their team.

"Set him down here, Ibiki-sama", Haku requested softly, wheeling a medical cot closer to the pair. Ibiki gently laid the still form of Nao down on the bed, the gentleness out of place and foreign in contrast to the usual harsh man.

"I will leave him in your care. I have an immediate project the needs my attention. Please keep me aware of his progress if there are any radical changes. After treatment, place him in a private room." Ibiki curtly ordered as he made his way swiftly out of the medical bay.

He had several ROOT members to interrogate – while Nao had only brought him the corpses for several ROOT members, Zabuza had managed to subdue a few and bring them in.

0o0o0o0o

Akihiro was a girl with a boy's name. Her parents had wanted a son to carry on the family line, but she instead was born. She was raised as if she was male, a good thing indeed for an aspiring shinobi. She had worked hard and had strived to earn her parent's approval.

Her hard work paid off and at the age of 24 she became one of three captains in Konoha's Science and Research Division. The division was small and often over looked compared to other divisions of Konoha's military force but Akihiro didn't mind.

Her parents had been proud of her accomplishment but they still wanted a son, she could see it in their eyes. So she continued even after to make herself as close to a male as possible-her hair was short, her face clean of makeup, her close were baggy and modest and she had many male friends whose mannerisms she often copied.

It was because of this that she was very observant. She was used to picking people apart piece by piece and the dead were not so different. It was because of this talent of hers, her strive to be the 'best' that she was chosen by Ibiki to dissect and study the ROOT ANBU that had been brought back by Nao.

She clicked on her recorder device and started her study.

"This is Akihiro Ishimaru of Konoha's Science and Research Division, subject number K23-98AA. I shall begin the dissection immediately. Making the first incision on the right pectoral muscle…"

O0o0o0o0o

Ibiki meanwhile stared down at a broken and bleeding ROOT ANBU member. Nothing could be done at the moment until research on the silencing seal and its counter was complete.

Silently sighing in aggravation, he motioned towards a waiting ANBU to take the subject back to his cell.

All he could do now was wait.

0o0o0oo0o0o0

Naruto realized he was unconscious the moment he 'woke up.'

First of all, he woke up in about an inch of water, the second tip off was the piping and his apparent sewer surroundings. But the largest tip off was that he couldn't smell anything.

Not in an 'I-have-a-cold' or 'there's-nothing-to-smell' kind of way, but a 'you-have-no-nose' kind of way. It was disconcerting to say the least.

Shifting himself out of the water, he wasn't surprised to see that his true form appeared here in what he assumed was his subconscious. What surprised him (besides the surroundings) was that he wore what appeared to be a feminine peplo made of nearly see-through gauze, tied at his waste with silver braided rope. The garment was long, trailing behind him in the water but the slit at the side allowed him to walk without tripping.

He trailed his hand along a nearby wall, looking around more closely. There were many other tunnels with a scattering of doors here and there with no identifying or unique marks to let one get their bearings. Thankfully, this was his mind where he was god and so finding his way around was merely a matter of thought. None-the-less, a little exploring while he waited for his body to recuperate would be entertaining at least.

With that in mind, he began his shuffle through the sewers. He peaked in on a few doors, memories of the past or dreams he had once had seemed to be all that they contained. So far the most interesting room he had found was the one where he stored all of his jutsus information.

Taking another step, he was surprised when his mind seemingly warped and he stood in front of large, red door. He could feel the heat coming off of the door and a growling snore could be faintly heard behind its heavy wooden barrier.

"Kyuubi", the word seemingly ghosted from his lips. He remembered that Inari had said she would handle the demon, so seemingly long ago. He wondered at that moment if it was wise to meet his burden.

He shook himself out of his hesitancy. He was being foolish. He had faced the Shukaku; he had traded words with Inari-sama him/herself! The Kyuubi should be nothing in comparison. Smiling at his own fear, he placed his hand on the dwarfing doors, not surprised when they easily gave in to his light push.

O0o0o0o0o

Haku frowned in worry as he dabbed Nao's sweaty brow. He (Nao) had shortly begun to become feverish after his arrival to the medical bay. Haku had found, after inspecting the wound, that the blade Nao had been cut with was poisoned. He had sent immediate word to Ibiki and another message when he found that the poison was not in their database. Hoping for the best, Nao was treated with a general neutralizer as the research division and medical specialists tried to breakdown the poison.

Sighing at his own helplessness, he rinsed the cloth out in cold water and began dapping Nao's brow again.

It seemed that even Nao was not invincible.

O0o0o0o0o0

Nao blinked at the huge creature seemingly crammed behind his prison like cage, a single seal seemed to be all that was keeping the looming gates closed.

He gracefully walked closer to the slumbering creature, noticing how its red chakra was seemingly absorbed into the nearby walls.

'I wonder…where it goes…?', he thought absently as he made his way even closer to the bars.

When he was in touching distance of the Kyuubi he finally stopped, cocking his head at his demon. The Kyuubi still appeared fierce even in sleep. Its large and cruel maw was closed, red eyes rested in sleep and nine tails swayed gently behind him. Its long claws gleamed in the faint light and its long fur swayed with each sleeping breath it took.

Reaching out without hesitation, Nao touched the Kyuubi's cold and wet nose, watching as the creature slowly came to life; its maw twitched and its whiskers moved with the motion, the tails halted their absent-minded movement and the demon's large eyes opened. It opened its large mouth, yawning to reveal large dagger-like teeth that could surely kill a fully armored samurai with one motion.

_**So jailer, you've finally come.**_ The Kyuubi's voice echoed around the hollow room. It was cruel, deep and dark and slightly gruff. The Kyuubi's lip curled as the words sounded, but much like Shukaku, his actual mouth did not move.

"Ah. Not on purpose mind you, but it seems my mind wished it to be so." Naruto shrugged in indifference. "I hope it is not because my subconscious is trying to warn me of something, hm?"

Kyuubi snorted, in aspiration or amusement he wasn't sure.

_**Inari-sama has already come to visit, youngling. Fear not, she made my place known if that was your worry. **_ The demon shifted in its tiny (for its size) cage.

"And where do I come into play in your 'place', Kyuubi? Surely you have responsibilities that cannot be ignored." Naruto asked, fiddling with a lock of hair.

_**Impudent mortal, you dare think you're station is higher than mine to remind me of my duties? **_ The Kyuubi snarled.

"Apparently it is needed, as you have not completed them in quite some time. I doubt matters where handling themselves as you napped." Naruto snapped back.

The Kyuubi roared in furry, banging its red body against the cage's walls only to receive a shock. The gate glowed with markings beyond Naruto's understanding – no doubt placed by either Inari or the Fifth's genius.

Snarling again, the Kyuubi backed up from the edge of the cage, fur smoking from the powerful shocks.

"Are you so foolish to fight a losing battle, Kyuubi? Against perhaps just me you may have won, but against your own patron god, you have no chance. Loose gracefully, the Ninth of Nine, resign yourself to your dut-"

_**YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF WHAT YOU SPEAK OF, MORTAL WELP! YOU THINK MY ANGER COMES FROM SLOTH WHEN IT COMES FROM WRAITH!**_ The Kyuubi's roar shook Naruto's very mindscape.

_**Konoha was and still is my territory, my land of ruling. I had no wish to attack its inhabitance, despite what you may think you foolish child. **_Kyuubi's voice was now barely a harsh whisper, fight seemingly drawn from its body.

"Why are you here, Kyuubi? What caused you to become my burden?" Naruto implored, hugging the cage's bars close to his body.

Kyuubi seemed to sag, with what Naruto wasn't sure but the burden was visible.

_**I was foolish. The oldest of my siblings and most powerful, I believed myself to be on par with the Kamis. I was a fool. **_ The majestic creature passed in its cage, story coming faster. _**It was when the idea of shinobi was just a dream. There were two brothers of power, and I was interested in the elder of the duo. I don't remember his name, but he would become the first Uchiha.**_

_**He was a handsome man and powerful. I took my human form and seduced him to bed. It was a mistake on my part. Humans are not built to handle such power of the tailed beasts. It was from that coupling he would receive Those Eyes but at a high cost. I didn't realize it until later but the price was high for both of us. **_Kyuubi became morose, almost regretful at those last words.

_**Those eyes caused eventual blindness if used too much and in some cases, mental instability; my own price for gifting a mortal with such a burden…my freedom. Uchiha Madara eventually found out that little secret. He used those eyes to force me against my own. **_

_**I hate that man; I hate him with more passion and burning then all the fires of hell! I will kill him and devour his soul as payment! **_

"So you will push aside your duties for revenge?" Naruto questioned. While he was surprised at the revelation, he was careful not to show it.

The Kyuubi snorted this time, in obvious amusement.

_**My dear jailor, who said I couldn't do both?**_

The great beast's formed glowed, his shape compacting in the resulting miasma. Raw power lashed out, striking the walls uncontrollably as Kyuubi's immense chakra was forced to compact its self down to a smaller size.

Out from the mist walked a man, cold and cruel looking. Pointed ears sliced through red hair that was spiky on top but became straight as it flowed down the demons back. His eyes were narrow and feline, outlined with black and his irises glowed red with a silted pupil. Three slash marks on each cheek mirrored Naruto's own, but Kyuubi's were wider and darker. His eyebrows where a darker red and were currently mostly hidden beneath his spiky bangs. A long and narrow nose led down to full lips and an angled jaw.

Kyuubi wore an old fashioned male kimono of deep crimson with a black hakama underneath. His feet were bare, showing the long claw like toenails that matched his fingernails. His fingers were long and slender, complementing his compact build.

"Did you not wonder, jailor, why you personality twisted so quickly and so easily? It was so easy to influence your thought patterns." Kyuubi grin was a familiar devil's grin.

"You tried so hard to convince yourself you were happy, that you didn't care. HA! You were breaking like shattered glass. Do you remember that day, Naruto…?"

_-o-o-omg flashback, haven't done one of these before!-o-o-o-_

_Naruto, Age 6_

_He lay in the garbage's muck in a dirty alley, blood mixing to the already disgusting mix of fowl trash. The smell was enough to make a weaker man retch, but Naruto just lay in the filth, blindly staring forward. _

_Cuts and bruises littered his body, sluggishly bleeding out the sorrow that filled the boy. Almost in a trance he pushed himself up and dragged his injured body back to his decrepit apartment building, making sure to stick to the shadows. _

_He dragged himself through the door, locking it behind him before making his way to the bathroom. He stumbled frequently and several bloody handprints were left on his walls from catching himself. _

_Finally he made it to the bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror, trying to see what was so horrid about himself that would cause a village full of people to hate him._

_He touched the mirror, trying to feel what was wrong with him._

_What…_

_His fingers pressed harder against the glass, causing small cracks to form around his hand._

…_was…_

_He pressed harder; eyes becoming colder as the mirror screamed in warning has the cracks grew_

…_wrong…_

_The glass was a spider-web of fractures, his own reflection broken into shards of glass._

…_with him?_

_The glass shattered, and along with it Naruto thought he could hear something within himself break. A few of the shards nicked his cheek and he stared at the glass that littered his feet._

…_maybe if they hated him, he could become someone they liked or at least, hated less._

_-_real time—

"…the day you realized that if you were weak, if you were stupid, that they would fear you less, hurt you less but hate you all the same. It was so easy jailor, so easy to slowly influence you. You were already broken after all, a bit of my personality to the mix for you to anchor yourself to was easily dismissible to someone who didn't even know themselves! Then you came into your Uzumaki inheritance, you became even more kitsune like! No Naruto, I plan on getting my revenge and doing my responsibilities and you'll help me." Kyuubi taunted from behind his cage, fingers clutched onto Naruto's own, his fingernails digging painfully into Naruto's flesh.

"I am Kyuubi no Yoko, Ninth tail and first born of the Blessed Children of Kami. My duties are double fold, for I am the Inari's messenger and the Judge for all. From the highest station to the lowest, all's fate is decided by me after their last breath!" Kyuubi hissed harshly into Naruto's wide and frozen eyes.

Kyuubi let go of Naruto, flinging him to the floor causing Naruto to cry out at the abrupt and harsh treatment.

"Do not worry too much my own, for I shall not be cruel to you. Inari came down here and calmed me into sanity once more and I have a certain fondness for you. The manipulations of the past cannot be changed, but I will interfere with your being no more. I will make sure that our bond is painless and easy as I can, but I expect we will come to blows on occasion. "Kyuubi crouched down, slinking a hand through the bars and running his claws lightly along Naruto's leg that was closest to the bars of the cage.

"The thought of causing you pain disturbs me in honesty. After all, you are my own." Kyuubi purred oddly, careful that his claws didn't cut into Naruto's flesh.

"Kyuu…bi" Naruto whispered out slowly, as if in anguish.

The bars around him started to flake and dissolve as he grew closer to waking.

"I…understand." His last sight before he woke to the painful world of the waking was of Kyuubi's smile, full of sharp fangs but sincere none the less.

O0o0o0o0o

Sasuke panted across from a nameless Sound shinobi, blood dripped from various minor wounds. He felt so weak! He had been struggling with most of his fights; his sharigan had still not emerged even with Kakashi's rigorous training.

Snarling in frustration he ran blindly at his enemy.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sakura squealed in fright, ducking her head and covering her face from an incoming senbon barrage. Tears streaked her dirty face as the senbons dug into the tender flesh of her forearms.

She was so weak, she knew that now. She had seen Ino earlier, standing strong and proud with her team even shy and meek Hinata was pulling her weight.

She could do nothing but hide.

Angry and hurt, she ripped several senbon from her arms and ran blindly at the enemy, screaming her anger and frustration.

She didn't want to be dead weight anymore.

O0o00o00o

Ibiki frowned down at Nao. The boy's chakra was disconcerting to begin with; it felt more liked a summoned creature's then a human's. Another strange point was the sound of bells that seemed to follow him everywhere even when none seemed to be on his person.

The boy seemed innocent enough, clothed in medical scrubs and a stark white bandage wrapped around his wound. The boy shifted slightly in sleep, snuggling into his pillow. The moonlight from the window seemed to bathe him in an unworldly light.

Nao was admittedly beautiful, even to a usually unaffected Ibiki.

'My reaction to him is…disconcerting", Ibiki thought as a frown pulled at his mouth.

Nao shifted again, a lock of hair slid across his face and stopped at his nose. Unable to help himself, Ibiki reached out a brushed the lock aside. His fingers trailed along Nao's soft face, marveling at how flawless it appeared.

O0o0o0

Naruto awoke to the sensation of someone stroking his face. It was pleasant; the coarse flesh tickled his sensitive skin pleasantly. He slit his eyes open, peering at the person who was taking such liberties with his person. His eyes opened fully in surprise to see it was Ibiki, a frown of marred his scared face.

Power he hadn't felt since his encounter with Zabuza shifted under the surface, impatient. Not hesitating, he reached up a softly kissed Ibiki on the mouth. The man tensed at first, before relaxing into the movement, prodding at the seam of Naruto's mouth with his tongue.

Perhaps it was the impatient feeling of that certain power pushing at the edge of his consciousness; perhaps it was the fact that he was seeking comfort after his ordeal. Whatever it was, Naruto relaxed into the motion and allowed Ibiki to take over.

Ibiki leaned over, propping himself over Naruto's form as the young man lay back down on the single cot. His limbs framing Naruto's relaxed body, Ibiki deepened the still connected kiss. His tongue moved with purpose in Naruto's mouth, stroking Naruto's own sensitive tongue, prodding at teeth and tickling the roof of his mouth. Saliva began to run down the sides of Naruto's mouth as he attempted to return the reverent kisses.

Shifting one of arms a bit, Ibiki tangled a hand into Naruto's hair and snapped the elastic that had been previously holding the tresses together. The hair immediately spread around them, creating almost another blanket beneath their bodies.

Naruto moved his arms to encircle Ibiki's neck as he rolled his body upward, grinding their body in one full wave from chest to groin. Ibiki moaned at the move, his hand tightened momentarily in Naruto's hair causing a slight tingling sensation from the gently pull.

Reluctantly Ibiki tore his mouth from Naruto's, a wet sucking sound resulted in the parting followed by Naruto's harsh pants as he was finally able to breath from his mouth instead of just his nose. Not even pausing, Ibiki licked a path from the corner of Naruto's mouth down to his neck. The trail of saliva left behind reflected the moonlight almost seemingly to sparkle in the bright light.

Making his way down Naruto's neck, he nibbled on a collar bone leaving it slightly red from the abuse. Impatient to move on, Naruto moved a hand onto Ibiki's head and pushed him further down, wanting the man's mouth elsewhere.

Ibiki let out a deep and dark chuckle, the sound scratchy and course like whiskey and cigarettes.

Obliging his partner's silent command, Ibiki unbuttoned the hospital scrub shirt, revealing Naruto's torso. Licking his lips in anticipation, he immediately dived for a nipple, peaked already from the room's cool air. He nipped to nub first, enjoying the gasp and jerk it produced. He scratched at the bud lightly with his uneven fingernail, watching as the blood rushed into the appendage and caused it to become a rosy red color.

Smiling darkly, he again wetted his lips before covering the whole tit with his mouth and sucking lightly. He ran his tongue broadly over the bud and first and then in more controlled, stronger and more pointed strokes as Naruto squirmed and gasped beneath him.

Naruto nearly came off the bed as Ibiki gently palmed the other nipple at first, before harshly twisting it while rolling the nub between his coarse fingers.

Even as the sensations from his tits caused Naruto to make all kinds of embarrassing sounds while he squirmed and twisted on the bed, Naruto again began pressing Ibiki's face down towards a more pressing problem. His erection was making itself more and more known and by now he could feel the pre-cum roll down the engorged flesh.

Again giving into his partner's demands, Ibiki's mouth moved further down his partner's body, stopping short of Naruto's wanted destination again. He paused at Naruto's navel, tongue swiping over the light sheen of sweat that had gathered there and nipping at the taunt muscles.

Impatient, Naruto thrust his hips up, his erection meeting nothing but air due to Ibiki's hunched position. Wanting to encourage his partner to move on, he raised one of his legs and ground it into Ibiki's own erection, massaging the organ. Ibiki moaned into the other's navel, the sounds vibrating pleasantly outward.

Still teasing Naruto's stomach, Ibiki slid both hands to hold Naruto's hips briefly before he used his hands to slide the elastic scrub pants down Naruto's thighs and finally off his legs. Naruto's cock bobbed upward, pre-cum glistened in the moonlight and the organ pleasantly flush with blood.

Naruto moaned, tossing his head backward as the air caressed the organ. He bit savagely at his lips as Ibiki's hand stroked and pulled his cock, a lewd wet sound gave way indication to how aroused he was.

Looking at Naruto in the eyes, Ibiki kissed a trail from Naruto's navel to the base of his cock, licking at the base and dragging his tongue to the top where his tongue gathered the spilling pre-cum. He tongued the slit, drawing an almost yell from Naruto before his tongue retreated back inside his mouth, swallowing his treasure.

Deciding he liked the taste, Ibiki dived back down, engulfing Naruto in one long swallow. Naruto stuffed his hand inside his mouth the muffle the scream as his back bowed from the pleasure. He could feel his cock hit the back of Ibiki's throat as the man sucked and massaged the organ.

Ibiki didn't even bother to suck with his mouth; instead he swallowed in his throat, massaging the other man's cock with the muscles there. The moved his head up and down, allowing a mixture of spit and pre-cum to dribble from his mouth and pool at the base of Naruto's cock.

When he deemed enough of the mixture had gathered there, he ran his fingers through it, liberally coating his digits with the lewd and sultry liquid. He lightly trailed the covered digits further down Naruto's body before reaching the boy's entrance. He circled the puckered flesh, enjoying how it twitched and seemed to suck at his fingers. He teased Naruto's ass for several minutes before pushing one digital in without pausing.

Naruto thrust down on the digit immediately, enjoying the burn of being stretched as his mouth opened in a silent moan. Chuckling around Naruto's cock and the other man's enjoyment, Ibiki didn't wait before adding another finger. He twisted and scissored the two digits before adding another finger. Again he twisted, pushed and pulled the three digits in and out of Naruto's loosening hole. He spread his fingers a few more times, enjoying how the ring of muscle clamped and gave away at the movement before he removed his hand.

Ignoring Naruto's whine of protest he coated his fingers with more of the gathering spit and cum mixture before shoving the fingers into Naruto's ass. When the mixture was suckled from his fingers, he'd repeat the process until Naruto's hole was already leaking from the mixture.

He pulled his mouth from Naruto's cock and said the first words of the night, while looking at Naruto's gapping and flexing cunt.

"It looks like you've already been fucked like this, wanting another cock." He thrust his still covered cock against Naruto, enjoying how the man thrust back, whining and moaning.

"Such an eager whore," he chuckled roughly as be begun disrobing his lower half. "Did you know Zabuza brags about your night together? Half the ANBU can't wait to take a crack at your ass. Maybe we'll do that next." He seemingly though out loud as he fished his cock from his pants. "I'll just tie you down to a table or maybe to a column and just let the ANBU fuck you all day, feeding you cock all day."

Naruto moaned at the thought, nearly panting with need. He'd like that more then he'd admit.

"But now, it's my turn." Ibiki whispered in victory as he pulled his cock from his pants. It was large, almost the size of Zabuza's and darker than the rest of the man. He was as hairless as the rest of his body, and his cock was heavily veined. The head was bigger than Naruto expected, and he was looking forward to Ibiki's struggle to fit the large circumference of the cock into his ass.

Ibiki wetly drug his hand to gather what was left of the makeshift lube around the base of Naruto's cock, pulling the organ a few times just for the hell of it. Retracting his hand, he stroked himself a few times to coat his cock before he positioned the bulbous head at Naruto's still twitching entrance. Practically panting in want, Naruto thrust his hips back and his pucker seemed to kiss Ibiki's head.

Snarling at the tease, Ibiki thrust in in one continuous stroke, eyes lidding at the sensation. The head of his cock had paused briefly at Naruto's entrance but a particularly harsh jab allowed him entrance, popping in with a wet 'squelch' sound. Naruto was tight, warm and wet from his earlier menstruations. He didn't even pause for Naruto to adjust before he began thrusting, harshly jabbing his cock into Naruto's insides.

He twisted his hips as the cot rocked back and forth. A few jabs and twists in and he located Naruto's prostate as was indicated by Naruto's wail. Ibiki's smile was all teeth as he continued his assault, he would speed up only to slow down to stave off their orgasms, only to speed up again.

It was maddening pace.

Naruto whined under him, thrashing and attempting to get the man to move at his pace. But Ibiki remained firm in his stance, alternating between quick and short jabs to long and slow pulls and pushes. Naruto both loved and hated the slow pace; loved how Ibiki's thick head would scraped against his walls and turn his blood into fire; loved how he could feel each movement and how it felt to fucking good and just made him want to lie there and let the man do whatever he wanted to him but he hated how slow it was, how maddening.

Eventually Naruto gave up his pleas and begging's and gave into the desire to lie there and let Ibiki use him. He moaned, groaned and whimpered until his throat was sore; he thrashed and trembled until sweat ran off him in tiny rivulets; he grabbed at whatever he could reach as he went mindless.

It seemed like hours, it was hours he was sure. He could feel his ass juices drip from his well fucked hole and Ibiki continued to use his body for pleasure. He body ached and he wanted to come so badly but he loved every painful moment.

Finally, as the sun began to rise, Ibiki sped up his pace and didn't back down. Naruto felt he could cry out in joy if he had the energy to. Instead he lay there, panting opened mouthed as saliva dribbled out of his mouth, the bed rocking against Ibiki's quick and harsh thrusts. He keened as the man became more savage and he felt his orgasm approach.

He came, in wonderful colors as he felt Ibiki's cum gush inside his ass, painting his inner walls with white. He felt his own cum hit his face, some landing inside his gapping mouth. Ibiki meanwhile, came in buckets, gush after gush pumped through his insides in warm waves. Finally after several minutes he pulled out, but he it seemed he wasn't done.

His cock still dribbled, a thin stream connected to Naruto's stretched entrance. He kneeled on the cot and pumped his dick a few times, causing more of his cream to shoot out, covering Naruto's body and face. Naruto's mouth, which was still gaping open, caught a few small sprays and he swallowed it down absentmindedly.

Ibiki grunted at the sight, his eyes hotly trailed over Naruto's cum and sweat covered body, his hair stuck to his skin. Finally his eyes connected to the hole he had so thoroughly enjoyed. Cum was leaking out of the abused hole and unable to help himself, he stretched Naruto's pucker sideways between his two thumbs, enjoying how the occasional glob would come out. Naruto whined in protest, attempting to close his legs.

"You know, I have to take a piss but…I'm just too worn out. Since this part of you likes to be stuffed so much…" Ibiki trailed off as he placed his flaccid dick back inside Naruto's anus. Humming in contentment, he emptied his bladder.

Naruto's eyes shot open, a great gust of air that might have once been a cry escaped his mouth as more warmth flooded his system. He could feel the cum and piss mixing in his gut as it swished around. The fact that Ibiki had just used him like a waste container was a turn on in itself; to be here only for his use, his pleasure….was elating.

The piss just kept coming and coming, filling him up completely. He feared he was going to be able to taste it if it kept up.

"No stop…nah…hn hmm…too much. You're gonna fill me up!" Naruto tried to explain with his brain still fuzzy, trying to push Ibiki out.

"Keep clenching like that and I'll get hard again" Ibiki warned mildly as he slapped Naruto's thigh, spreading him so wide that his legs fell off on either side of the cot. He scooted in closer and Naruto gave up again.

After what seemed like forever, Ibiki was empty. He retracted from Naruto's ass again, watching as cum and piss gushed out onto the sheets. He looked at his cock and walked to the head of the bed. Grabbing Naruto by the back of his head, he pushed Naruto's slack face to his cock.

"Clean it off." He ordered, rubbing his dirty cock against Naruto's check.

Naruto opened his mouth, letting Ibiki slip his cock that was covered in piss, cum and Naruto's own ass juices enter his mouth. He licked and sucked at the large dick and moaned feebly when it began to harden again. Thankfully Ibiki seemed impatient now and began fucking his face. He rammed his dick down Naruto's throat without mercy.

He came quickly this time, most likely still sensitive from his last orgasm. He grabbed Naruto's face, forcing his head back so that his large cock head rested on Naruto's tongue. Cum gushed out, warm and thick, hitting Naruto's tongue as he weakly swallowed his treat. When the last morsel was swallowed, Ibiki withdrew his cock from Naruto's mouth and tucked it back into his pants.

"We'll have to do this again sometime, won't we, Nao? Maybe next time you can kneel under my desk and suck me off all day." Ibiki petted Nao's hair.

Making sure his clothes were in order, Ibiki left, leaving Naruto to fall asleep behind him.


	13. Chapter 13

Sooooo apparently not a lot of you guys pay attention to warnings at the beginning of the chapter. I got a lot of you guys 'ew'ing of the watersports at the end, but there was a warning at the beginning of the chapter. None the less, I guess I'll try to post it right before.

A lot of you were also concerned about love and sex not being the same thing and if Naruto was just going to be a passed around whore or not.

Let me say again:

THIS

STORY

WILL

HAVE

A

HAPPY

ENDING.

K? now calm down and let me handle this.

Also, I'm pleased to announce I got my first ever flame the other day for the last chapter. I'm disappointed that the user blocked me so I couldn't reply and therefore tell them how excited I was to finally get one.

It's like a rite of passage, you know?

0o0o0o0o0

Naruto awoke to the sensation of being shifted. Exhausted, he could barely slit his eyes open.

"Shh Nao-kun," a sweet voice whispered. "I'm just cleaning you up. The poison must have been worse than I thought for you to lose control of your…facilities."

"Mmf" Naruto tried to talk, but his throat was still sore and rough.

"I'll be done in a minute." The voice sounded again, accompanied by a wet washcloth that gently began washing his body. The voice hummed softly and he soon found himself lulled back into sleep.

He was awoken again as he was shifted on his stomach and the sheets pulled from under him. While the voice still hummed, he couldn't seem to find sleep again and so he just lay there, enjoying the sensation of being rubbed down with warm water.

He was rolled back onto his back as the sheets were changed out and finally a face entered his vision. Long brown hair was tied up into a bun and a gentle smile greeted his tired eyes.

"Good morning, Nao-kun" Haku greeted gently.

Naruto opened his mouth to answer, only to start coughing. Smiling as gently as ever, grabbed a nearby glass of water with a large straw and gently placed it by Naruto's mouth. Feeling useless, Naruto sucked the water down in large gulps until he felt satisfied. Clearing his throat experimentally, he opened his mouth to talk.

"Ohayo" he said back though his voice was still weak it was getting better.

"How do you feel?" Haku asked as he dabbed Naruto's brow.

"Mm, tired" Naruto murmured, enjoying the cool cloth.

"The poison is almost completely out of your system," Haku informed him. "Just bear with it a little longer."

"You are far too kind for a shinobi, Haku." Naruto informed him tiredly, a sad smile emerging on his face.

"Perhaps", Haku agreed with an absent nod. "Or perhaps you are too used to the cruelties of man." He almost whispered as he began combing out Naruto's hair.

Naruto's face scrunched into a frown, an unusual look for the Uzumaki heir. In a way, Haku was right. From birth he had been hated, despised and spit upon and so for him, kindness was a hard concept to understand.

"For people like me…kindness…" Naruto huffed in sadly.

Haku said no more as he continued to clean Naruto and take care of his needs.

"Your meal will be up shortly. As long as you manage to keep it down, you should be cleared for light duty within two or more days." Haku said as he left the room, closing the door behind him softly as to not disturb the drifting patient.

Naruto hummed in reply, succumbing to sleep once again.

O0o0o0o0oo0

Naruto was cleared for duty the next day, his wounds healing over completely and no trace of the poison could be found in his system. He immediately set towards the Hokage's tower to report his findings and to learn of any relevant happenings that he had missed.

The Hokage's tower was a mess, parts had been blown off on the outside of the tower and the inside was in shambles as well; plaster and papers littered the floor, pools of blood painted the walls and people (civilian and shinobi alike) were scrambling about trying to clean up or do some assigned task.

Naruto tried to shuffle through the mess, but it wasn't long before he was seemingly lost in the sea of people. Just as it was getting bad enough that he was contemplating if walking on the ceiling was worth it, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Oy! Nao!" Genma's bandana gave him away as he flagged down Naruto from atop a desk. He appeared to be replacing ceiling tiles and checking the wiring in the ceiling's crawlspace.

"Genma-kun", Naruto greeted as he smiled warmly. He pushed harder through the masses until he finally managed to make his way to Genma's footstool-sans-desk.

"Glad to see your up and about", Genma smirked down at the man. "Heard you got a bit of a bug," he added jokingly.

"Something like that." Naruto agreed amenably. "What have I missed while I've been out?"

"Mah, a lot actually," Genma's face grew serious. "Actually, I'm due for a lunch break with Iruka. If you like, you can join us and we'll catch you up."

Naruto hesitated, he really should see the Hokage first thing but with how crowded the building was, he had no doubt the old man was swimming in work and meetings as it was. A few hours wouldn't hurt.

"Sure," Naruto smiled friendly.

O0o0o0o0

After a quick stop by the mission's office to grab a more-haggled-looking-then-usual Iruka, the three comrades found an isolated table at a quite café to lunch at.

"Let see, did you see any of the Chunin exam?" Genma asked as he absently played with his noddle dish.

"All the way until the genjutsu was cast," Naruto acknowledged.

"Ah, well then…Shino was the only one to receive a promotion to Chunin, quite the insult considering that both Neji and Lee were more experienced." Genma absently waved his chopsticks about.

"Neji was deemed to be too immature; the judges feared his disregard for his own team would carry over to missions. Lee almost was promoted, but he didn't show any willingness to quite a losing fight." Iruka informed him.

"I was more concerned with the almost-war then ninja politics if you please." Naruto informed them both, munching contentedly on his sushi.

"Of course, of course," Genma nodded in a knowing way. "After the genjutsu was cast, everyone's orders kicked in. The clan did as they were designated well enough and the ANBU and Hokage in coliseum focused their attention on Orochimaru. Thankfully the seals that had been placed on his chair did the work and over half of his chakra had been slowly drained without him noticing a thing."

It had been a random but brilliant idea; painting in invisible ink seals along the 'guest' Hokage's chair that slowly drained chakra. It took such small amounts that no one would notice and generally wouldn't have made a difference, but with Orochimaru already pulling on his chakra to hold up his illusion and to cast the genjutsu the effect was much stronger as his body couldn't replenish its stores.

"That isn't to say the fight was easy. The Hokage's personal ties with Orochimaru made it harder…" Genma trailed off as he shoved a large clump of noodles into his mouth.

"Teachers and students should never have to battle until the end." Iruka finished sadly, shaking his head.

"So Orochimaru is…?" Naruto trailed off leadingly.

"Dead but not without cost; he caught the Hokage off guard and managed to do _something_ to his arm. It appears to be rotting and it's spreading." Genma informed him.

"If nothing is done…" Iruka seemed to tense even as the words left his mouth, "…he has month, maybe two."

"…I see" Naruto murmured quietly, unable to make eye contact.

"The council has ordered him to name an heir just in case; meanwhile the legendary Jiraiya has been asked to find Tsunade, right Iruka?" Genma asked.

"Mm. I hear he's looking for Naruto-kun too. Something about training…actually Nao-san, have you seen Naruto? I haven't seen him since all the commotion…I'm worried."

Not able to stand the force of Iruka's doe eyes, Nao scrambled for an answer.

"Naruto-kun has been living with me, knowing what was going to happen…I had him hide within the forbidden forest. He wasn't to leave until I fetched him."

"Thank goodness," Iruka seemed to relax before their eyes. "I'm glad I'm no longer the only one who watches after that little imp."

Genma meanwhile rolled his eyes. "Anyways, that Sand kid ended up joining into the fray of the main fight, killed quite a few Sound-nin. His siblings ended up going out into the main part of town and helping out there. We only suffered about 50 causalities, mostly low-level shinobi who had something to prove…they're still digging some of the more stubborn civilians out from the rubble; those who didn't want to evacuate…" Genma trailed off thoughtfully again.

"Ano, our last total was 208 injured I think, both shinobi and civilian. The fact that we planned ahead cut our losses significantly." Iruka admitted, scratching his nose. "Most shinobi not only had the advantage or surprise, but many made sure to travel in small groups…"

"Many of the civilian council perished as well unfortunately." Genma commented flatly. "They held up in the Hokage tower and were slaughtered. Only three remain alive, two small merchant families and one blacksmithing family. Several shinobi heads also perished, apparently their age hindered them. Replacements haven't been named in all the chaos."

"As happy an ending as one can expect, I suppose." Naruto mumbled thoughtfully. "So who do I turn my report into if the Hokage is…ill?" Naruto asked finally.

"Mah, I'd just wait. Currently the council is taking reports but if it's really sensitive or not that important I'd wait" Genma answered, leaning back in his chair.

"Current orders are to help rebuilding. You can either help as you see fit or go to the mission's office for a specific assignment. No pay is being given unfortunately, but given the circumstances…"

"We're a village." Naruto stated.

"Ah." Both Genma and Iruka agreed. They were a village.

O0o0o0o

Nao quickly and quietly slipped into the Hokage's quarters. It was well past nightfall but the old shinobi was still awake, smoking his pipe contently as he stood in front of a large map of Konoha in his main foyer.

"Naruto", he acknowledged, not even bothering to turn around.

"Hokage-sama", Naruto bowed formerly at the waist.

"Ibiki has already filled in me in on much of what you will have to report and seeing as my council numbers has almost decreased by half, I expect you'll report will be full of success." The Hokage exhaled the fragrant smoke.

"Yes, Hokage-sama" Naruto agreed as he began filling in the details of his mission. After he finish the Hokage nodded contentedly, taking a seat in an overly stuffed chair. He seemed to have no remorse in regards to the deaths of his previous teammates.

"As I'm sure you've heard Jiraiya will be sent out shortly to track down Tsunade. Her services are required by both me and her village." At this comment, Sarutobi revealed his previously concealed arm. It was a black and purple shriveled thing, no longer really resembling an arm and the flesh seemed to be crumbling off in pieces.

"There is a rumor that Jiraiya is looking for me?" Naruto commented.

Propping the decomposing arm up on his knee Sarutobi nodded.

"Yes, I will be summoning both of you tomorrow morning to send you off. I'd suggest showing up with a shadow clone version of Nao as well. I will be 'assigning' him a long term mission to bring in more revenue while you're gone through his mission will last significantly longer."

"Understood, Hokage-sama" Naruto bowed at the waist.

"That's all for now, you are dismissed."


	14. Chapter 14

I'm writing this in a hospital waiting for my mom to come out of surgery. Whatever I have written I'll post when they come out to tell me to come back to the recovery room. So I haven't looked this over or anything :)

O0o0o0o0o0oo00o

As the Hokage had stated, the next day Naruto and Nao were summoned to the Hokage's tower. Naruto created a shadow clone to pose as Nao during the process, and both walked side by side chatting to the Hokage tower. It was a strange experience for Naruto, to look up and see he's more adult and refined face staring down at him. Usually it was the other way around.

Making their way to the tower, Nao was called in first and left shortly after with a mission scroll. He ruffled Naruto's bangs before making his way out. The clone would travel 10 miles outside the city before destroying the decoy scroll and dispelling itself.

Naruto was then called into the Hokage's office.

"Ah Naruto, please take a seat." The Hokage motioned to the aforementioned seat.

"As you know, our village has too many injured for us to heal in a timely manner and the council is calling for a healer…especially with my current…condition." Here the Hokage rolled his eyes childishly.

"I'm sending Jiraiya to look for his teammate, Tsunade who is a renowned healer. He has requested that you accompany him on the trip. He believes you may have better luck convincing her to return then himself." The Hokage took a long draw off his pipe. "He's agreed to train you during your travels as compensation. Any questions?"

"Yeah jiji," Naruto's eyes become foxlike crescents and he scratched the back of his head, "where is he?"

"Ah." The Hokage hesitated, almost wincing, "he's most likely…near the bathhouses."

"…bathhouses?"

"Hai"

"…he's….a pervert?" Naruto whispered in disbelief.

"…hai."

"…great." Naruto muttered with sarcasm.

O0o00o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto neared one of Konoha's major bathhouses. He'd been at two others, searching for a man with 'white, spikey hair and red tattoos under his eyes.'

As he neared the rear of the bathhouse, he heard muffled giggling and pen scratches. Eyebrow ticking in annoyance, he stealthily made his way towards the sound.

'Jack pot' Naruto thought as he parted a throng of bushes. Perched in a tree meters away was a man that could no doubt be anyone other than Jiraiya. The man indeed did have long, white, spikey hair, red triangle-like tattoos under his eyes and a forehead protector with the kanji for 'oil' where just a few parts of his costume.

Smirking mischievously, Naruto made his way to the tree the hermit was perched under, the sound of tinkling bells followed him. Standing bellow the large oak, he placed his hands on the bark of the tree. Immediately the feeling of **One** flowed into him, the tree rushing to greet him.

'I know, I know,' Naruto thought to the tree smiling a bit, 'I haven't talked to you in quite a while. My apologizes, my responsibilities kept be occupied.'

The tree sent a picture of a young civilian girl, laughing and waving a hand in the universal 'no worries' gesture.

'I have a favor to ask of you.' Naruto spoke to the tree. 'A little prank.'

The tree rustled in curiosity.

'The man in your branches, I've been searching for him. Currently he's been rather lewd and peeking at women while they bathe. Could you perhaps knock him into the bath?' Naruto requested.

The tree showed an image of a group of young girls tittering behind their hands.

'Thank you' Naruto caressed the bark in thanks before removing his hands.

The Oak tree rustled its branches in preparation before suddenly the branch seemingly have out and slanted down, causing its passenger to cry out in alarm followed by a loud splash as Jiraiya fell into the women's side of the bathhouse.

There was dead silence for a few seconds as Naruto stifled his gleeful laughter behind his hands, then…

"KYAAAAAA!"

"PERVERT!"

"AHHHHH!"

"OUT! OUT! OUT!"

"GET HIM!"

"SOMEONE GET HIM!"

Mass pandemonium.

Screams sounded from behind the wooden and stone walls as women and girls screamed in anger and embarrassment. Loud sounds of splashing could be heard as women scrambled from their baths and kunoichi scrambled for their weapons.

"Now, now ladies, no need to panic…", Jiraiya tried to placate them but never got to finish his words. Naruto watched wide eyed as Jiraiya suddenly broke through the wooden wall, crashing harshly into a nearby bolder. His face was red and his eyes dazed.

As the dust settled Naruto could clearly see the form of a woman, her palm extended outward and her feet planted firmly on the grounds. As Naruto looked closer, he noticed the white eyes of the Hyuuga staring out in anger, her towel clutched to her chest with her other hand. No doubt the woman used gentle fist to expel Jiraiya out of the bathhouse.

"She was…a real…knock-out" Jiraiya muttered dazedly from his position on the bolder.

Naruto snorted before grabbing the back of the hermit's kimono shirt, dragging him away from the scene of the crime.

O0o0o0o0o

Nearing training ground 13 (a training ground used mostly for water-jutsu practice due to the large pond in the center) Naruto didn't hesitate to throw the toad hermit into the cold water. Just before the old man hit the surface, he seemed to come out of his daze and manage to land on the water's surface.

"Ah-ha!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he began to perform a weird little dance, "Do not underestimate the power of…" he dramatically posed, "The Great Jiraiya!"

"Not impressed." Naruto deadpanned.

"Eh?" Jiraiya exclaimed, nearly losing his balance on the water.

"Why you little brat…" he muttered.

"Naruto."

"Ehhhh?"

"My name." Naruto explained, "My name is Naruto."

'So this is Naruto, huuu.' Jiraiya thought to himself.

"Ah, I've been looking for you, Naruto" Jiraiya smiled, as if pleased with himself.

O0o0o0o0o0o

Naruto stared in frustration at the balloon that rested innocently in the palm of his hands. He'd been trying for hours to pop the balloon, and so far he was ready to throw the thing at Jiraiya's head. Spinning it just cause the balloon to flatten out like a pancake but the rubber wouldn't burst. Even then, the perverts had stayed spherical. Growling in frustration, Naruto leaned back against a tree.

They had made camp in a clearing, the grotto of trees making an almost perfect circle.

'Any ideas?' he thought to the tree he leaned against. He waited as the trees seemed to shuffle through their memories quickly; flashes of pictures and snatches of conversation flew by before the tree finally settled on one.

A man tall and blond trained at one of Konoha's training grounds. It was the 4th Hokage, made obvious by the trademark trench coat with flame border that the man wore.

Naruto watched as the trees speed up time, showing the Fourth developing the rasengan over time.

It was then that Naruto understood the concept behind the madness.

Opposite directions.

The 'currents' in the sphere went in opposite directions, causing friction to build and tear away at the balloon's delicate material.

He watched the dead Hokage continue to build on the technique, trying to vary it and improve it.

He realized, as he watched the Fourth try to expand to rasengan only to have it almost demolish his arm, that there was room for improvement.

He smiled in thanks to the tree before he picked up the balloon, starting again.

O0o0o0o0o

Jiraiya stared down at Naruto in shock and awe. The brat had managed to create master all three steps of making a rasengan by the time they'd reached their first major town. Sighing, he realized he'd have to teach the brat something else.

"Not bad, gaki", Jiraiya muttered reluctantly.

Naruto smiled happily.

O0o0o0

Naruto sighed, staring at the ceiling of the hotel room. Shortly after checking in, Jiraiya had been distracted by a pretty face, leaving Naruto on his own. Not that he minded. He'd been mindful not to show Jiraiya his true colors, mostly because he didn't trust the man yet.

Knocking on the door startle Naruto; he felt no chakra on the other side, so he assumed it was a maid or a civilian. Swinging his feet over the side of the bed, he gracefully pulled himself off the bed and padded over to the door, reaching out for the handle.

O0o0o0o0o

Annnnd I see the Doctor coming over to tell us how it went. More to come later, sorry!

Buuuut, since you guys are so awesome, a little hint to what's coming up:

Weasel + pockey = ?


	15. Chapter 15

Sasuke had been beyond infuriated when he learned his brother had been spotted in Konoha. It just added salt to the festering wound that his _perfect_ brother had been looking for the _dobe_ of all people. The _**DOBE**_! Not him, not his brother, the only survivor and avenger of the Uchiha clan, but the fucking Dobe.

He didn't care that his own sensei had been placed into a coma; he didn't care about the ramifications that his (unarguably) powerful brother was after his genin teammate. All of those rational thoughts were lost in a haze of hate and his irrational thoughts of revenge.

He left Konoha quickly, not bothering to stop to ask permission or give notice. If he had been anyone else then a Uchiha, his actions would have been seen as abandonment to his village and hunter nin would have been sent after him. He was lucky his clan's name had saved him once again.

He ran quickly, not bothering to stop to rest but instead he quickly followed the trail of eye witnesses until he came to a small gambling town. He questioned everyone, until he was led to a small inn where he quickly barked questions to the inn keeper. Getting confirmation that a 'young yellow haired boy traveling with a white haired gentleman' was in room 3, he didn't even let the keeper finish his sentence before he shot up the stairs and banged on the door.

O0o0o Meanwhile 0o0o0o

Not sensing any chakra on the other side of the door, Naruto allowed his illusion to drop as Nao took an appearance once more. He figured it would be easier to cover their tracks if Naruto was seen as little as possible. Besides, it was known that Nao was doing a long term mission so being seen at a local inn was easily dismissible and would better improve his back story if he occasionally popped up.

The door was knocked upon again, harder this time and impatient.

"Yara yara, I'm opening it now, be patient." Naruto exhaled in aspiration.

Unlocking the top bolt and turning the handle, Naruto swung the door outwards, his eyes widening in surprise.

O0o0o0o0o

Sasuke wanted to scream in frustration. On the other side of the door stood no other then an elderly gentleman, brittle and skinny with age and his no doubt grandson of corn yellow hair, blinking owlishly at Sasuke.

Not even giving an explanation, Sasuke shot out of the hotel, beginning his pursuit again.

O0o0o0o0

"…Fish?" Naruto muttered confusedly as he stared at the tall, blue, shark-like man in front of him.

"Oi, Itachi! I think you made a mistake, this can't be him. He's too old." The man's voice sounded garbled, as if he was under water.

Following the fish-man's line of sight, his eyes connected with a tall man – his skin was pale and flawless, with long raven hair swept back in a ponytail and stress lines framing his black eyes. Long lashes blinked at him slowly as a hand with painted nails came through his coat's opening, resting there. Both of his new companions sported slashes through their forehead protectors, indicating them to be missing-nin.

He would have to tread carefully.

"Ah. How strange…Uzumaki Naruto entered this inn, but he is not here." The man's, Itachi Naruto assumed, looked at him more closely before his eyes turned red, the famed sharingan spun at Naruto. "It is not a genjutsu."

Itachi shifted from slightly, turning to look completely at Naruto.

"My associate and I are looking for Uzumaki Naruto. Do you know where he is?"

"Uzumaki…Naruto…Perhaps, what does he look like?"

Itachi's companion shifted impatiently, "Let's go Itachi, this is a waste of time."

"Patience Kisame, we've lost our lead anyways," Itachi monotoned.

"Yara yara, so rude." Naruto huffed, shifting to lean on the doorway as the sound of tinkling bells chimed gently with his actions. His black kimono with burnt orange flowers shifted with his movements.

"Whatever. You look like Uzumaki, blond, blue eyed, tan, three whisker marks on his cheeks." Kisame rattled of impatiently, the large bundled he held in his hands tapped the floor lightly as he spoke.

"Oro? I look like this boy? Maybe I am him, hmm?" Naruto teased, a small grin crossing his face.

Kisame scoffed, "Useless."

Itachi watched the exchange, his face cold and unmoving.

"Perhaps you were correct Kisame, let's go" he turned, ready to move out before he stopped, glaring at the hallway.

"Ah, it seems unwelcome company is approaching." Naruto observed. "Why don't you come inside to avoid any…unwanted encounters?" Naruto suggested lightly as he moved out of the doorway in a welcoming gesture.

Itachi hesitated, staring down at the hallway before nodding.

"Eh?" Kisame questioned, "Itachi what –"

"Kisame." Itachi warned without words.

"Che, fine whatever." Kisame complained as they both entered Naruto's room.

Just in the nick of time as Sasuke came barreling up the stairs seconds after the door clicked shut.

Oo0o0o0o0o

"Why don't you two hide in a bathroom for a minute, hmm?" Naruto suggested as his door was once again pounded upon.

Not bothering to acknowledge the suggestion both moved towards the only other door in the room.

The pounding on the door began anew. Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Naruto yanked the door open.

"What?!" he snapped impatiently, startling the small Uchiha who's arm was still raised to begin his bashing again.

Sasuke eyed the man before him; he recognized him as a friend of Naruto's but had never been formally introduced to the man.

"Where's Naruto?" He demanded harshly.

"Ma ma, Naruto sure is popular today." He muttered, once again leaning on the doorway. "You're the second person today who's asked after him."

Sasuke's eyes turned sharp, "I don't have time for this. I'm looking for Itachi."

"Itachi eh? Who's that, your lover?" Naruto cruelly teased, an ugly smile on his demonically beautiful face.

"Don't insult me!" Sasuke snarled. "That man…killed my whole clan in one night! I will avenge them, where is he?!"

"Ohhhh, he killed your whole clan and you think you're powerful enough to beat him? You? A mere genin?" Naruto's face became colder, "Pathetic. Go away Sasu-chan, you're boring me. Naruto isn't here, he's busy training with Jiraiya, becoming stronger while you're wasting your time and the time of other's with your foolishness."

"Whore…" Sasuke snarled, making a move towards his kunai pouch.

Naruto's eyes turned into foxlike slits, a truly cold smile stretched on his face. His hand reared back and harshly slapped the Uchiha heir across his face, a loud crack and a reddening imprint on Sasuke's pale skin was left in the wake of his movements.

"You are a child; a spoiled, useless child who can't be bothered to see anything that doesn't fit in your sad little world. You're pathetic, not even capable of seeing that there are those out there who suffer worse then you but manage fine, clinging to the past like some foolish girl with a crush." Naruto grabbed the back of Sasuke's shirt, lifting the stunned Uchiha up to his face. "You're doing exactly what you're brother wants," Naruto whispered coldly, before dropping Sasuke as if he was infected.

"Take him home, he's wasted enough time and may have just endangered my own mission, the little fool." Naruto spat, staring at the window where Gai was waiting to make his entrance.

Sasuke stared at the floor, cheek red and hot and his eyes sightless. Gai sighed, crawling through the window and picking up the child. He nodded at Naruto before leaving towards the stairwell.

Huffing in annoyance, Naruto closed and locked his door for hopefully the final time.

"Your brother is annoying." He informed Itachi.

"Hn." Itachi acknowledged, "Foolish otouto."

"Come Kisame, we're leaving." Itachi turned for the door.

"Uchiha Itachi and his partner, Hoshigaki Kisame of the Akatsuki" Naruto hummed, causing both aforementioned people to freeze, "An organization of S-ranked missing-nin who's main focus seems to be to obtain and abstract the biju from their jinchuriki." Naruto continued, picking at his nails.

"So, you do know of us." Itachi stated, turning around fully.

"Especially of you Itachi," Naruto smiled his devil's smile, bells sounded as he gracefully stepped into Itachi's personal boundaries.

"Practically forced by Konoha's council and Danzo to slaughter your whole clan, and yet you still sacrifice for them and your precious Otouto." Naruto curled a finger around Itachi's hair, a more coy smile emerging.

"Such loyalty and love, such a tragic hero." Itachi made his move, his hand shooting out from his jacket and wrapping around Naruto's throat.

"Oh Hoooo," Kisame chortled, "looks like you've done it now."

Itachi's eyes began to wildly spin, preparing to use Tsukuyomi on the Konoha-nin before him.

"They're dead." Naruto whispered out, "all but Danzo is dead, and he's soon to follow." Naruto's smile became more blood thirsty, "they screamed so well."

Kisame chuckled wildly, "I like his style Itachi. We should keep him, especially if he can ruffle you so well."

"What do you hope to gain from this?" Itachi questioned, voice even and plain, his eyes fading back to black.

"A trade," Naruto smiled as Itachi released his throat. "I wish an audience with Akatsuki; I will discuss my terms there."

"Very well, I will contact Leader about your request." Itachi acknowledged, before both him and Kisame shushined away.

Waiting for their chakra signatures to completely disappear, Naruto transformed into his younger appearance. Apparently Inari's luck was on his side, for not 5 minutes later the Toad Hermit had returned, drunk and barely able to stand up right as he fell face first into the bed.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the drunken mess, face turned towards the moonlight, a demonic open-mouthed grin reflected in the shadow's of his face.

O0o0o0o0

Jiraiya and Naruto visited a seemingly endless amount of gambling villages. An opportunity that Naruto took hold of – he would often henge himself into an older, nondescript man or woman before entering the gambling den. Apparently Inari's luck applied to gambling, as he would win whatever he was playing, be it slots or cards, without even trying.

He quickly accumulated a small fortune which he immediately invested into land, businesses and placed the rest into a bank account. He was quickly building up quite a fortune thanks to said investments.

When Jiraiya wasn't boozing or being a man-whore, he did teach Naruto what he could. He taught his young apprentice his strange form of taijutsu and was beginning to teach Naruto the basics of sealing techniques. Other times Naruto would occupy himself by talking to the local trees, finding comfort in their wildness.

Sighing, Jiraiya and Naruto entered yet another gambling town, still looking for the legendary sucker. Rolling his eyes as Jiraiya became distracted by another pretty face; Naruto took a chance to look around the village.

The walls were made of stone and built up high, a sign of this town's wealth. The local Lord's house was located in the center, marked by its obviously larger size and beauty.

Turning to look at his companion, Naruto realized he had been ditched…again. Jiraiya was nowhere to be found, no doubt chasing after the pretty thing he saw earlier. Naruto huffed, glad he found women sexually unappealing.

Wondering around, he searched for a place to eat only to run across something he'd never seen before.

A pig. A pig with a pearl necklace, maroon vest and bandage wrappings to act like a shirt.

Dafuq?

Naruto stared at the pig, the pig stared at Naruto.

Stare.

Stare.

Stare.

Stare.

Stare.

"Um, hi?" Naruto finally offered.

"Buhi", the pig stated, seemingly waltzing up to Naruto before sitting down.

"…are you lost?" Naruto asked, ruffling his hair in a nervous gesture.

"Buuuuhi" the pig muttered sadly, eyes tearing up.

"…" _what the fuck am I supposed to do?_ Naruto thought as he stared at the pig.

"Mah…want to get something to eat?" Naruto offered hesitantly.

"Buhi!" the pig exclaimed happily, a happy light lit up in its teary eyes.

"Let's go then." Naruto muttered, as he lifted the pig up into his arms.

It didn't take long for Naruto to locate a ramen stand, ordering a miso for himself and a vegetable for his pig companion. The pig dug in gratefully, apparently very hungry as it stuffed its whole face into the bowl and began slurping away. Naruto himself began to slurp at the noodles, enjoying the salty broth.

O0o0o0 Several hours later o0o0o0o

Naruto and the pig had become quick friends. The pig was smart, cute and kinda funny, which was a strange considering it was a –pig-.

They were currently visiting a nearby park which held a small pond, complete with dock that they sat on, Naruto's bare feet trailing the water.

"Tonton?! Tonton?!" a young woman's voice sounded from the park's entrance. "Oh Tsunade-sama, what if we can't find her?" the young woman, with black hair and a battle-style kimono stood next to none other than Tsunade, the Legendary Sucker.

Fucking perfect.

O0o0o0o0

"Thank you again for looking after Tonton Naruto!" Shizune, Tsunade's attendant bowed formally.

"It was no problem; she's so cute after all." Naruto waved it away, scratching the blushing Tonton behind a little ear.

"So what brings you into town, Naruto?" Shizune asked, eyeing his Leaf headband.

"Funny you should ask, I'm here with Jiraiya looking for Tsunade actually." Naruto looked pointedly at the blond senin. "Today must be my lucky day."

"I'd say gaki," Jiraiya said as he stepped out of the shadows. "Why don't we go have a drink? My treat." The steal in his voice made it a command, more than a question.

O0o0o0o

"I refuse." Tsunade stated plainly. "I'm not going back to that graveyard of a village."

Tsunade had taken the news of Orochimaru's death surprisingly well, and had shown nearly no emotion at the mention of her old sensei's injuries let alone that of her village.

"Sarutobi has promised that upon your return you will become head of a new program that focuses on training and implementing medic-nin into squads along with paying off your debts." Jiraiya tried to negotiate.

Shizune looked anxiously at her master, wanting her to take the offer.

Tsunade merely scoffed, turning her head away and drinking her cup of sake in one go.

Jiraiya's frown grew deeper, Shizune shuffled in her seat nervously as the air grew tense.

Finally Jiraiya sighed, his plans to get Tsunade to return peacefully in shambles. He opened his mouth to attempt his final tactic when his _darling_ apprentice decided to open his _large trap._

"What, you scared, Obachan?" Naruto interrupted rudely.

"Oba..chan?", Tsunade practically ground out, her eyebrow ticking madly.

"Pft, don't try to hide it. You have to be around the same age the Ero-senin and he's practically _ancient_." Naruto stated plainly.

"Why you…" Tsunade stood up, fisting shaking.

"Tsunade-sama" Shizune tried to calm her mentor down.

"Coward." Naruto hissed out. "You're life hasn't been half that bad, but you just keep running away, like some child."

Tsunade blinked, seeing the image of her dead brother and lover overlap Naruto's for a moment before shaking herself out of it.

"That village is just a dead end, the sooner you realize it the better." Tsunade commented bitterly.

"Every place is a dead end, but I choose to be surrounded by home when I die instead of alone, surrounded by strangers who are waiting to feast on your corpse after your last breath." Naruto levelly said, returning Tsunade's stare.

Tsunade's breath hitched, before a smirk twitched at the corners of her mouth.

"Tell you what kid, how about a bet?"

"Against the Legendary Sucker? Why not? I win and you come back."

"…and if you lose you give me all your money and promise never to me a ninja."

"Deal" Naruto smirked confidently even as Jiraiya moaned in agony and Shizune strangled sound of denial.

O0o0o0

One hit, that's all. He just had to land one hit on her, and she promised only to use on finger. No problem at all.

"Listen gaki," Jiraiya whispered to Naruto. "She might not look like much but she's a master of chakra control. She can gather a large amount in her fist and release it all at once giving her devastating strength…even from one finger."

"Got it, Ero-senin."

"…I hope she kills you." Jiraiya muttered sulkily.

"Ready?!" Shizune shouted nervously between the two who were across from each other in a deserted street. "Hajime!"

Tsunade didn't move, even as Naruto created five shadow clones. They rushed the senin and were quickly dealt with, but Naruto used the cloud of smoke to his advantage and quickly hid.

"Not bad gaki…" Tsunade muttered, "but not good enough!" she shouted as she jumped away, Naruto landing right where she used to be, complete Rasengan spiraling in his hands.

Naruto managed to catch himself, releasing the jutsu so as to not waste his chakra.

"You taught him that jutsu?! Jiraiya you're a fool, he's only a kid!" Tsunade yelled. "He probably can't even use it properly yet!"

"Stop underestimating me!" Naruto barked, running at her again.

"Che" again, she dodged his barreling attack, flicking him on the forehead which slammed him back into a nearby wall, almost breaking through the brick.

"It's over." She stated, letting her stance relax.

"No," Naruto mumbled as he pulled himself from the rubble "it's not."

"How…?!" She asked in surprise, eyes wide in disbelief.

He charged at her again, a new form of rasengan spiraling in his hands. He was attempting to charge the rasengan with kyuubi's chakra, which made it unstable and wasn't perfected yet however; it was a guaranteed KO if he succeeded.

Tsunade reared back, having to use grab Naruto's wrist and force the rasengan to meet the ground.

"Tsunade…you…" Shizune mumbled in disbelief.

"You lose." Naruto stated smugly, the dust clearing to show a spider web-like pattern on the ground.

'_So'_ Jiraiya thought as he stared at the pattern, _'he's already trying to improve it._

Tsunade stared in disbelief at her and Naruto's hand.

"….fuck."

O0o0o0o0oo0 A/N

And yet another semester of school begins for me. Woo.

Anyone else here go to GenCon Indy?


	16. Chapter 16

I was subjected a large amount of threatening emails from an anonymous viewer. He also apparently reported the story, so I'll make an effort to upload all the newer chapters to y-gallery that way if they're taken down I still have them backed up. They'll be there under the same title and same user name as here.

Just an FYI.

Also, I'm in my final year (2 semesters left after this one!) of college. So I don't have a lot of time to update. Please be understanding of this. I'm only human, like you.

* * *

Tsunade stared down at her old sensei dumbly. He sat comfortably enough behind his desk, smoking his pipe. His decomposing arm was on the table for Tsunade to inspect. She practically cringed at it, and she could only thank her lucky stars it wasn't bleeding. Sighing to herself in resignation, blue healing chakra spread to her hands as she began to heal her old sensei.

"You will be needed to heal a victim of the Sharingan along with those more severely injured from the attack. After that you will come here to talk to me and the council about the new medic-nin program." He spoke softly but steadily. The firm look in his eyes cut off any protest.

"Che. Fine." She tore her gaze away from his.

Jiraiya sighed as he leaned on the window behind the Hokage. Naruto smiled happily; glad to be back in his village.

He had so much to do after all!

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sasuke stared numbly at Ibiki. After Sasuke's little…episode, the hokage had plainly stated his ninja status would be suspended if not revoked if he did not undergo a mental evaluation and therapy, if needed.

Ibiki had spent a good three hours with him, followed by a Yamanaka taking a casual stroll through his mind.

"You are mentally instable. Frankly, I'm surprised you haven't tried to kill your teammates yet or defect…yet" Ibiki stated bluntly.

"Let's be honest here." Ibiki leaned forward in his chair, hands clasped on the metal table top of the otherwise bare room. "If I tell the council of your condition and your full range of issues, they're going to want me to completely rebuild you. This means I break you and start from the ground up. If I go straight to the Hokage, he's going to want you to go into therapy to deal with your issues." Ibiki leaned back sighing.

"I don't care one way or another. But you are a friend of Naruto's, how is precious to Nao. And I've fucked up with Nao. So I'm going to do you a favor" his scared face stretched into a bland smile.

"I'm going to let you tell me which you want to do, and proceed down that path. So which is it kid? Reprogramming or talking about your feelings?"

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Along with this new program, I've also been asked to name an heir in case I pass away." Sarutobi addressed the assembly council and shinobi heads. There were few in number as the new heads to replace those who had been lost in the invasion had not been nominated yet.

"Despite her protests, I have named Tsunade my successor." The crowd clapped with approval.

Tsunade meanwhile sulked in the corner even as they turned their attention to her. She had been backed into a corner with no way of turning down the position. The old man had become even trickier in his old age.

* * *

"You want to what?" Naruto stared at Jiraiya, sure he had misheard.

"I want to take you on as my apprentice. Officially. We'll be going on a two year training trip at least." The white haired man stated as he stared at his pupil plainly.

"Have you even cleared this with the old man yet?" Naruto was mentally sweeting. How could he cover up a two year absence with Nao too?

Jiraiya frowned. "No, but he has no grounds to deny me my right as your Master."

o0o0o0o0o0o

"I will permit Naruto to leave with you under to condition you take another one of my shinobi with you. Not" Sarutobi held up his hand to forestall Jiraiya's protests, "not that I'm not confident in your abilities. But I feel more comfortable with backup just in case Akatsuki attempts to make a move." Sarutobi finished smoothly.

"Who?" Jiraiya gritted out.

"Naruto's pseudo-guardian Nao," Sarutobi inhaled more smoke. "You only have to teach Naruto, but keep in mind what Naruto leans, he teaches Nao and vice versa. You may leave tomorrow. I suggest you say your good-byes Naruto. And please tell Nao the news too."

0o0o0o0o

"What?!"

"Two years?!"

"But you just got back!"

Naruto's old classmates, dubbed 'The Konoha 12' from the Chunin matches, along with Iruka, Nao, Genma, Raido, Haku and a newly healed Kakshi had crammed into Nao's apartment on both of their requests. After short introductions, Nao and his Naruto clone had broken the news to their friends.

Naruto laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head. Nao meanwhile had just smiled his foxlike smile, his hands up in a 'what could I do' gesture.

"Yeah, I really don't have a choice and Nao is getting dragged along with."

"So…tonight is…your last night with us?" Sakura spoke out, her voice barely a broken whisper. Everyone seemed to quiet, sensing the tension in the statement. Sasuke's dull eyes finally moved at the question, piercing at Naruto through the crowd.

He was more worn down lately. Quieter. He had told his teammates he might have to be going away for a while too, but he wouldn't say why.

"…Yeah" Naruto hesitated at first, answering just a quietly.

The air was quiet and solemn for a moment. A pregnant pause filled the room.

"PARTY!" Kiba finally broke the silence with his war cry.

"K-Kiba!" Hiniata chastised at her friends brashness.

"It's alright Hyuuga-Sama. I think Inuzuka-sama has a good idea. I have some movies and popcorn. Why have a sleepover?" Nao suggested gently, already moving to grab the popcorn.

General shouts of agreement filled the room. They were determined to ignore the somber atmosphere.

o0o0o0o

When they woke in the morning, they found breakfast for all of them waiting on the table. Two spare keys had been left on the counter with the request that Iruka check in own Naruto and Nao's apartments to water the plants.

The end

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April Fools! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHHAA! It's not the end! I still have a lot more to right about!


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